Courting Disaster
by shadows59
Summary: In a different reality, Ben and Gwen aren't separated and sent to different schools, their mothers don't ruin things, and things are generally better all around. Except for all of the adults who are around the two and slowly begin to realize that there's no stopping the chain reaction going on. They're Ben and Gwen, and the world can just deal with it. By Erico and Shadows59
1. Prologue: The Kids Stay Together

_**COURTING DISASTER**_

By Shadows59 and Eric "Erico" Lawson

* * *

**Prologue: The Kids Stay Together**

By Eric "Erico" Lawson

_Gwen's House_

_Bellwood, California_

_June 20th, 1992 C.E._

_1:42 P.M._

Sandra and Natalie Tennyson didn't always see eye to eye about things, especially when it came to worrying about their children. They had been fortunate enough to fall in love with the Tennyson brothers, and unfortunate enough to get to know and form a bond with their future mother-in-law before Verdona died in the fire that burned down her house. For a time, grief and the mutual panic about their pregnancies and the loathing both women had for their own families had kept them united. And Ben and Gwen had been such wonderful babies, and being able to rely on each other early on had been a godsend.

But then Frank had started earning more money, and the two families had bought houses on opposite sides of town. What had once been constant visits slowly dwindled, because it just got harder and harder to listen to Lili as the kids got older. It was like she'd forgotten all the promises they made to each other. That she'd forgotten everything she hated about her mother, who reminded Sandra too much of her _own_ mother, and started emulating them.

Really, if it wasn't for Ben and Gwen…

But here she was, sitting in Lili's kitchen and drinking coffee while her darling Ben was upstairs playing with his cousin. Who had chicken pox. Admittedly, it was a solid idea that she agreed with; getting chicken pox now before school started was preferable. And the kids loved playing together. Always had. Although...they were noticing now. They'd both stopped at the bottom of the stairs, holding hands, and had stared at them, at their mothers, waiting for her and Lili to start fighting and cut the visit short.

That had been thirty minutes ago and she still couldn't shake the look she'd seen on her son's face. Gwen had worn one just like it. Sandra figured even Lili had seen it...she'd been quieter than usual. Or maybe she was reading too much into it, and Lili just figured that silence was better than speaking, which inevitably led to an argument.

And the kids _knew it._

"School will be starting soon." Lili mused softly, refilling her cup. She held up the pot expectantly, and Sandra nudged her cup and saucer over for her to refill it also. "We'll be enrolling Gwendolyn into kindergarten this year. Have you thought about sending Ben to kindergarten also?"

"I'm still not convinced it's a good idea to have them in a year early." Sandra confessed. She wrapped her hands around the coffee cup and let the heat leech into her palms. "They're only four and a half. Other kids going into kindergarten are _six. _Maybe five."

"They're _smart_, Sandy." Lili insisted. "You should see them with the flash cards and the games. I knew Gwen could handle them, and Ben keeps up with her every step of the way."

"But, DeMornay's book says…" Sandra started, and froze when she saw Lili start to scowl. She shook her head. "No, forget that." And Lili calmed down, just a hair. "I want Ben to succeed, Lili. I want that as much as you do. But I want him to be _happy_ doing it."

"And you think…" Lili started again with a growl, but stopped herself. She closed her eyes and counted silently. Sandra did the same.

Maybe in another time, another place, she wouldn't have seen anything that would make her worry. Maybe if she'd been less observant, Sandra would have completely missed how the kids just stood there and _waited_ for the fight to happen.

But this was not that time or place, and she had seen them waiting to be pulled apart. So she took in a breath, worked up her courage…

_Do it for them._

"Why are we always fighting, Lili?" Sandra asked sadly. She opened her eyes and looked over to _that woman_, expecting indignation.

She saw surprise instead. Sandra didn't wait for it to disappear. "Did you see how Ben and Gwen _looked at us_ before you told them to go upstairs and play?"

Lili might have tried to say something, but she settled for a rough nod, and looked down at the table.

"They were _expecting_ us to start fighting. Not more than a minute after we'd gotten here, and…" Sandra's voice broke. "The last time at our house? You remember what happened?"

"The lights went crazy, didn't they?"

"No...well, yes. I guess it would be the time before that. You and I got into another argument, and you went upstairs to take Gwen home?"

Lili flinched a bit. "They were in his closet."

"Covering each other's ears." Sandra remembered sadly.

They both took a long sip of coffee after that, drinking little but making it last.

"I wonder what Verdona would think of us." Lili said, after their cups came back down again. Sandra had to laugh at the notion.

"She'd probably smack us both and then sit us down until we made up." She confessed.

Lili chuckled and ran a fingertip around the rim of her coffee cup. "She would. But we'd get cookies out of it."

"...She made the best sugar cookies." Sandra sighed. "Always said the secret ingredient was love." She met Lili's eyes again. "She would have loved Gwen and Ben."

"She would have spoiled them rotten." Lili complained, and the two laughed a little at that before sobering up. For Sandra, the pain was still too fresh. They'd visited her grave only two weeks ago with Max. And her father-in-law still…

He still couldn't…

"Okay. Let's table it for now." Lili conceded. "We won't talk any more about school today." Sandra nodded, and realized just how much tension that let out of the kitchen. "So what do you want to talk about?"

Sandra thought about it for a while. "Want to go check on the kids?"

"We _could_, I suppose...but they might not react well."

"If we went up by ourselves, like usual?" Sandra suggested, and tried not to wince at how _the usual_ sounded. Still, it gave her an idea. "But what about if we brought them something?"

"Like another game to play?"

"Something better." Sandra set her cup back down and scooted away from the table, offering her sister-in-law a tentative, shy smile. "Do you have the fixings to make sugar cookies?"

They hadn't done any baking together in years, not since Verdona had passed away. Sandra considered it a wild, mad hope, she figured Lili would refuse, or say that it would ruin the kid's dinner. Or that she would refuse out of hand.

But things had bent enough for the unusual to not be so unpalatable. Lili smiled back, stood up, and smoothed out her skirt.

"I think I do, actually."

An hour later, the kitchen was full of the smell of fresh cookies made with love. Both mothers made their way upstairs with a plate of cookies between them, and changed the paradigm. Ben and Gwen had two cookies each, but insisted on splitting each one, which made Lili laugh and wonder when Gwen had gotten so good at sharing.

It wasn't until the end of the visit, when Sandra was in the car with Ben and half a mile out that she realized that she and Lili had averted the usual arguments. And that Lili had hugged her when they'd said their goodbyes. She hugged almost as well as Gwen hugged Ben.

"Did you have fun, sweetie?" Sandra asked Ben, who still grinned like a maniac in his car seat in the back. Gwen always made him smile.

"Uh huh! Can we have cookies when she comes over?"

"If you're a good boy, Ben, we'll see."

"I _am_ good! Gwen says so!" He chirped back.

"Oh, well, if _Gwen_ says so." Sandra laughed.

* * *

_Ben's House_

_June 29th, 1992 C.E._

_10:14 A.M._

Sandra walked into Ben's room with a sippy cup of cold fruit punch; mixed herself, with a little less powder than the recipe called for. "Ben, honey? Are you okay?" She asked carefully.

Her precious little boy grumbled and curled into his blankets even tighter. "It's so _itchy_." He groaned, though he wasn't able to go after them. Not with piano gloves on his hands, and taped up so he couldn't take them off. She'd put enough bandages on his arms yesterday.

"I know, honey. It's no fun at all." Sandra comforted him, rubbing his back a little bit. "Are you thirsty? I've got some fruit punch here." He grunted once and came up for air with a sour look on his face, but he took the cup and drank as much as he could. "Go slowly." She coached him. "There's more if you want it."

"Want Gwen." Ben said, handing the mostly empty cup back to her. "She knows what to do."

Sandra sighed again. That was his solution for almost everything. 'Want Gwen.' And if he thought she was supposed to be around, he'd say 'Where's Gwen?' She brushed his hair back and smiled when he squirmed away from her hand. "I know you do, sweetie, but…"

And she hesitated. Really, it wasn't like Gwen could get the chicken pox _again_. But…

But.

So Sandra smiled. "I can't make any promises. But I'll call your Aunt Lili and see if she'd let Gwen come over. Okay?"

Regardless of how miserable Ben was feeling with his face, arms, and chest covered in tiny red spots, that not-quite-a-promise made him brighten up and smile like he hadn't in days. "Kay." He said, and burrowed back into bed.

"And you won't try picking at them?" She asked.

"No."

"Promise?"

"Pwomise." Ben grunted, with only a little bit of a face. Sandra left the cup beside his bed for him and went downstairs to make a phone call. She only hesitated for about twenty seconds before she punched the second number on the speed dial.

To her surprise, Gwen answered the phone, and after sounding very phone-mature for her age, brightened up after she realized who was calling. She must have stayed close after Lili took the phone from her, because as soon as Sandra asked if Gwen could come over to help Ben feel better, the little girl squealed excitedly and immediately started rattling off _please-please-pleases_ like she was a typewriter. Lili sounded incredibly frustrated, but with Sandra listening in and biting her cheek to keep from laughing, she eventually agreed to a visit in the afternoon _if_ Gwen was a good girl the rest of the morning and helped her with chores.

Sandra almost went back up to tell Ben the good news, but stopped halfway up the steps. He needed sleep right now, and if she told him Gwen was coming, there would be no chance of that happening.

He still asked when she woke him up for lunch, though. And when she told him that Gwen probably was coming by in the afternoon, he grinned again, then turned serious.

"She gets cookies." He said, less a request and more an order. "You pwomised."

Sandra blinked at that, tried to recall the conversation, and laughed when she did. "Yes. Yes, I did. Okay. But you have to stay up here still, okay? Until she gets here, and then maybe if you're feeling better, you can come down and play with her for a while. Otherwise, she can visit you here in your room."

"Kay." He nodded his head exactly once, as if considering the matter settled.

"So. Sugar cookies? Or chocolate chip? Or oatmeal raisin?"

"Choc'wit chip!" Ben insisted. She laughed again and headed downstairs to get started.

She'd just gotten the pan into the oven when the doorbell rang, and when she went to answer it, a sudden thud from upstairs made her pause. Then the steady thumping of Ben's tiny feet along the hallway made her chuckle, and she went to the door to answer it.

"Don't run down the steps, Ben! I don't want you falling!" She called up towards him, then opened the door and beamed at Lili and Gwen, waiting on the other side.

"Hi, Sandra." Lili said, smirking just a little. She arched her eyes over Sandra's shoulder. "Up and around, I take it?"

Sandra had to chuckle. "Soon as the doorbell went off. I think he…"

"Gwen!" Ben rasped, his face covered in red spots. And then Gwen's eyes went shock wide.

"You too?!" She almost yelled, and squirmed out of her mother's hand, making a beeline straight for him.

And Lili just raised an eyebrow, for once not bothering to correct Gwen to not yell, or to not run, or to not do any of the half dozen things she'd done and was still doing in the last five seconds. Sandra shrugged, but her smile felt a little more genuine.

"I just put some cookies in. Coffee or tea?"

"I wouldn't mind some tea." Lili conceded, and they made their way back to the kitchen as their children started squawking at each other, with Gwen fussing over Ben every step of the way. "Honestly, it's like she's a different girl the moment she sees him."

Sandra paused with her hand around a box of black tea bags, and felt the question form in her mind. _And what's wrong with that?_

But she held her tongue, another rare concession. "I have decaf and regular black tea."

"Oh, either is fine." Lili reassured her. The red-haired woman sat down at the table and angled her chair so she could look out into the living room, where the kids were now sitting down on the carpet, while Ben pulled his sleeves back so Gwen could make faces at all the spots on his arms, and the marks of anti-itch lotion Sandra had tried to cover them with. "How's he been doing?"

"Same as Gwen, I think. Kept trying to scratch at them all, and he gets tired easily. Not much of a fever, though. Thank goodness."

Lili hummed and nodded. "I'll be glad when they're both over it. Gwen's lost the spots, but she's still on the mend herself." Sandra set a teakettle on the stove to boil and then checked the oven again, then set a timer for the cookies inside. "Still, it's better that they're dealing with it now, and not this fall when they're in school."

Sandra got out a couple of coffee mugs from the glass cabinet and put a teabag in each of them, and waited for Lili's next question.

"Have you been thinking about what school to send him to?" Lili asked.

"The one in our district is Drake Elementary." Sandra said calmly, sitting down on the other side of the kitchen table. "It would be good, keeping him close to home. And you're sending Gwen to that private school, right?"

"Angelwood." Lili said with a nod. "It's not exactly around the corner from our house, but it's a good school. She'll have a lot of opportunities there." The woman drummed her fingers on the table. "You could send Ben there too, you know."

"We _could_." Sandra tried to keep a civil tongue in her head. "But he's smart enough that he could succeed anywhere. And Drake's got a good reputation as well. Besides, I'm not sure he'd be _happy_ at Angelwood. I read that brochure you left, and...uniforms? _Really_?" She shivered, and thought of the parochial schools that _her_ parents had insisted on sending her and her brothers and sisters to. She thought of her brother Eric, who'd been forced to go through _conversion therapy_, and… "I can't stand the thought that they'd try to make my Ben into someone he isn't. That they'll do it to Gwen." She added in a weak voice, and shivered again.

She half-expected Lili to fly off the handle again, like she always did. But the other woman didn't. She looked like she wanted to, when Sandra looked up at her, but she held off and shook her head.

"Private doesn't mean parochial." Lili reminded her gently. "I was going to take Gwen there next week, to give her a chance to see the place. You could come along."

"I don't know." Sandra wavered.

"If it's a matter of money…" Lili hesitatingly started, but cut herself off when Sandra glared at her.

"My son is _not_ a charity case." Sandra growled.

"I...I didn't mean that to sound the way it did." Lili backpedaled.

The teakettle whistled, and Sandra bit off her next retort, going to kill the heat and pour them each a cup. She brought the mugs back over and set them down, leaving her tea to steep.

Lili used a spoon to stir her bag through the steaming water. Sandra used the silence to breathe in and out, then froze.

She couldn't hear the kids out in the living room. She stood back up and went to go and check on them, but…

They came into the kitchen, hand in hand. Looking sad.

"Mommy, we hafta go now?" Gwen asked, looking down at the floor and squeezing Ben's hand all the harder.

"No, sweetie." Sandra said, instantly denying the possibility before Lili could get a word in. Seeing Gwen look that miserable was just _wrong_.

"You were yelling." Ben mumbled.

"We were talking, Benjamin." Lili said carefully. "Not yelling."

"Not happy talking." He replied. And Lili flinched.

"We were talking about schools." Sandra explained.

"Gwen's going to kindergarten this fall." Lili went on, maybe, hopefully, just as eager as Sandra was to keep the kids from being sad, again. "A school called Angelwood."

"And your daddy and I thought, Ben, that you could go to kindergarten also." Sandra added. "There's a school close by to here. Drake. You've seen it a couple of times when we go driving around. What do you think?"

Sandra almost flinched as soon as she said it, because one of the parenting books she read was insistent that you never _ask_ your child what they want. You _tell them_ what they're going to get. Of course, there was that other book which said to give them a _choice_, so they feel like they have ownership in their lives, but you're retaining control.

Lili waited while Ben scrunched up his face in his rarely used 'thinking look' and then turned his head to look at Gwen. The little red-haired girl looked back at him, and Sandra could see her squeeze his gloved hand even tighter.

"Kindergarden." Ben finally said. "Okay. I go with Gwen." And Gwen grinned at him, and Ben grinned back.

Sandra wondered who'd pulled the rug out from under her. "Uh, Ben, that's...you see, she's going to a different school than…"

"Nuh uh!" Ben hollered, instantly angry. Gwen mirrored his rage, stepping ahead of him.

"Together!" She snapped. "Want Ben!"

Panicking and wondering where her exhausted son found the energy to get so mad, Sandra looked over to Lili for moral support, and found the other woman looking just as surprised as she felt.

Laughing together after that was the easiest thing to do. The kids relaxed a little when they did, but they still didn't walk off, and stayed in the doorway, holding each others' hand. Because this was important.

Sandra walked over to them and knelt down so she could meet their eyes. "Ben, are you sure?" She asked. "You haven't seen her school. If you went there, you'd have an outfit you'd have to wear every day. You couldn't wear your favorite shirt all the time."

That did make him squint up a bit, but only for a second. And then he was back to looking stubborn and deadset.

"Gwen's there." He insisted. "I go to _her_ school."

Sandra's lip quivered as she looked at her boy, and for an instant, saw a glimpse of the man he might grow up to be. Then she wiped at her eyes, and it was gone.

"Okay, Ben. Okay." She surrendered. "You can go to Gwen's school." And the both of them cheered at that, scampering back off with Gwen chattering about how _good_ it was going to be.

Sandra sat back down at the table, and Lili shook her head. "I honestly didn't see that coming." The red-haired woman said.

"Neither did I." Sandra admitted. And then the worries set in. She'd given her word that her son could go to Gwen's school. But how would they be able to get him in? The few times she'd bothered to pay attention to Lili nattering away, she'd mentioned _tests_ to even be admitted, and there was the tuition, and her worries about the uniform, and…

Lili reached across the table and grasped her hand. "He'll get in." She promised Sandra, her eyes glimmering. "All those flashcards he insisted on doing with Gwen? He'll pass with flying colors." And then she squeezed her hand, like Gwen had squeezed Ben's only seconds before. "We'll do whatever we can to help, if you want help. But there are also scholarships. We'll make it work, Sandra."

"I hope I'm doing the right thing." Sandra whispered.

"Look at it this way." Lili said, pulling her hand back and chuckling. "It'll be a brand new school for the both of them. School is always scary when it's new. At least they'll have each other as something familiar."

"I suppose they will." Sandra said. And then the oven timer finally went off, and when the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies wafted through the house, Ben and Gwen came barreling back in, eager for a snack. They got cookies and fruit juice while Lili and Sandra had cookies and tea, and it ended up being one of the most civil afternoons they'd spent together in years. She was still nervous about a lot of things, and wondered how Carl would take the news that they would have to start setting money aside for private tuition, but there was one thing Sandra felt sure about. She wasn't worried about Ben being lonely anymore.

The kids would be staying together.

* * *

**Shadows59 Notes:**

Everyone knows that Ben and Gwen could barely stand each other by the time they went on their big summer trip when they were ten, but what no one knows is that they were nearly inseparable for their first four and a half years.

In the Little Moments universe proper, something happened that set their next six years, but in this world there is a glance taken, a look seen and a word reconsidered and that makes all the difference.

This story started as an au while Erico and I were dealing with other worlds. It was just an idea of how cute it would be to see them growing up together, from their first day of kindergarten on. This is just the beginning of the cute.

This story will only be updated when we have a need for something cute and light hearted, but this Ben and Gwen have their own story to tell. We hope that you enjoy it.

**Erico's Notes:**

We make no excuses. We make no apologies. We will go down with this Ship.

Updates will be infrequent, and will generally occur when we either need a hug or something so cute that it makes our usual story-based drama less soul-shattering. And we'll be trading off chapters, because of Reasons.


	2. Chapter 1: The Kids Start School

**Chapter One: The Kids Start School**

**By Shadows59**

_Angelwood Elementary_

_Bellwood, California_

_August 26th, 1992 C.E._

_7:55A.M._

Some people loved Christmas, but the first day of school was always Anna's favorite day of the year.

" - pick a seat, Ms. Hunter, we'll be starting soon!" She said as she grinned down at the little girl with long blond haired that was held in a ponytail by a bright pink bow. The splash of color brought up the same little bit of resentment that she always had for the uniforms that the school _insisted _on - a plain black skirt and a blue sweater for the girls was so _dull _and the blue polo shirts and black knee pants for the boys was even _worse _when her kids should be splashes of color - but it was probably for the best when the little girl looked so _cute _as she danced on her toes and looked into the classroom with huge blue eyes.

Cute and then _adorable _when she pulled on the straps of the tiny Kitty Cat backpack that she had over her shoulders and squeaked out, 'Kay! Mz. Hughes!" Her little Mary Janes were so shined up that they all but glittered as the little angel raced in. Yes, the uniform was for the best. Anna was sure she never would have been able to take it if she saw the little girl in the bright dresses she must wear at home.

It was a cuteness that the woman standing next to her didn't even seem to see anymore as she just sighed, "Marci..."

Anna gave the woman a little look and then pretended not to notice as Mrs. Hunter's frown vanished the second the little girl came racing back and hugged the woman's knees for almost a whole second before she called out, "Bye mommy!" Then she went racing back to the only table that was still unclaimed and so she could pull the right chair out and clamber up into it. There was another excited squeal when she saw the crayons that were waiting for her and whoever picked the seat next to her.

"My Marci's not usually like this," Mrs. Hunter sighed as she ran her hand through her own long blond hair, like Ana needed any more proof that the two were mother and daughter.

"It's the first day of Kindergarten, Mrs. Hunter," Anna grinned at the woman because she could hold back her giggle, but not that. She took in the sight of the eight other kids that were piled up inside. Some were drawing like Marci, others were over by the toy box like they'd never seen them before and they all looked like they were having the time of their lives."Most of the kids are like this when they get here."

The rest usually burst out crying, and Anna hated that, but at least she didn't cry with them anymore. The last few years broke her of _that. _

But she still kept some candy in her desk, just in case. She'd only needed to hand out a few pieces this year, which had to be a good sign, and the two girls and the little brown haired boy who'd all had meltdowns before were all smiles now. All nine of her kids were. Everyone else could have Christmas, this was _better. _

For her, anyway.

She half listened to Mrs. Hunter as she said something else, something that sounded like the same lists of things that her little girl could and couldn't do that they'd gone over during Open House and if any of it was the least bit life threatening then Anna would have given it her whole attention, but it wasn't so she did her best and held back from blurting out that she _wasn't _going to sanitize everything before the girl touched it. Kids and dirt belonged together.

So did kids and fits, and from the sounds of it her friend had to deal with a barn-burner a couple of minutes ago. Even after the last five years she was still amazed that anyone could _yell _that loud, much less a kindergartner. She'd had a little girl who was almost as loud last year and Emma came charging over the second it started, but the woman had a good decade of teaching on her and that meant so much.

It meant enough that Anna chewed at the inside of her cheek as she oh so casually looked around the woman in front of her to the door across the hall from hers and tried to see inside. She saw a few kids in there, but none of them had the grins that hers did. They weren't storming out either, though. Not like the other mom did a few seconds after the screaming started, her face red and wet under her mess of dirty blond hair like her world was ending, too.

If Mrs. Hunter and Marci hadn't walked up at the same time…

Anna wished that she could have given the woman a hug and a tissue. If Mrs. Hunter wasn't staring at her, she still might have gone for the one she had hidden in the sleeve of her sweater just from the memory. As it was, all she could do was smile away the tears. "It's a good thing that Marci's excited, Mrs. Hunter."

"I suppose," the other woman sighed and said a few more things before she turned and started down the same hall that the other blond had fled not five minutes ago. Anna's eyes followed her as she looked for the other mom or her last student. She knew that she wouldn't have stood a chance if she was in the other hall, but this one was for kindergarten to fourth grade and even her five foot and three inch frame towered over most of the kids here, not that she was looking for kids, but it made finding the parents all the easier.

First time moms were always the easiest, too. They all had the same look that Anna saw in the mirror when she was nibbling on her nails and the red haired woman she saw making her way through the kids and towards her was no exception.

Almost. If anything, this woman looked even more worried than most as she kept glancing down at her right side until her left hand actually did brush her lips. First timers always needed kid gloves and this one looked like she needed it even more than most. Anna didn't need a class or her mentors to tell her _that,_ but they all did. Especially when they were as young as the woman in front of her. Honestly, they could have gone to school together, except Anna never looked as put together as the woman in front of her did in her simple green sundress that had no right looking as good as it did. Not now, and she was sure not by the end of the day. And she'd never had hair that looked as good. Angelwood frowned on hair dye and that was the hardest part about taking the job, but she was sure that if she could find a bottle that matched that shade of red, even Mrs. Clemonte would look the other way.

That was before the kids in the hall _finally _remembered that they had places to be and they finally thinned out enough that she saw the tiny girl that was walking next to the woman and oh so purposely not holding her hand, but there wasn't any hiding the awe in her green eyes as she looked _everywhere _or the copper fire of her hair that put even her mother's to shame, much less the inky nothing of Anna's. That should have been enough, but the tiny thing looked _adorable _her uniform skirt and sweater, too.

"Hi, Sweetie!" Anna cooed as the girl and somehow fought down the urge to just give her a hug because if she did that she would have never been able to let her go, much less tell the mother, "I think you made a wrong turn, Ma'am. Preschool is back - "

"I'm not in Pwe-school!" The girl said, the words whistled through the spot where two teeth were just starting to come in and if she'd been just a few months older it would have… Well, it still would have been adorable when she stomped her foot and glared up.

"That's - " Anna started before she bit her tongue as she looked up and the mom showed just where the little girl learned her glare _from_.

But the mom had more self control. Her voice didn't have any of the indignation of the little girl, but there was still an edge as she sighed. "Mrs. Hughes? I'm Natalie Tennyson, we met at the open house last week?"

"I remember, Mrs. Tennyson," Anna said as she made her smile come back because she didn't. Not really. It was all a bit of a blur even though she did her best, but lists were always easier than faces for her and the name clicked. At least until she looked down. She kept the smile on her face, but she could hear the disbelief in her voice as she asked, "Then this is Gwendolyn?"

The woman - Mrs. Tennyson smiled down at her daughter as she reached down and brushed her hand through that fiery red hair. "All better from her cold."

"But - " Anna said as she tried to swallow her disbelief. The office knew what it was doing when it placed the girl here, she was sure - and she tried to ignore how her mentors would have laughed at that. Tried and failed as she knelt down, careful to keep her skirt in place _and who expected teachers to get this dressed up for Kindergarten?_ If the money and the prestige wasn't so good… Prestige that meant that she shouldn't ask what she was about to, but the kids came _first. _"How old are you, Sweetie?"

The girl's emerald eyes lost all their fire as she grinned and showed off the gap in her teeth again. "4 and three-quarters!"

"Gwen…"

"A'most," Gw - no. No keep it at the girl. Don't get attached. Not if this really was a mistake and especially not when the girl was _adorable _as she blushed at the admission.

"How- ?" Anna almost finished that question before she bit off the _almost. _She made her smile stay in place even as she looked up. She didn't change her tone, not that it fooled the little girl. "Ma'am. I think that there's been some kind of mistake. Children aren't allowed to start kindergarten until - "

No, there wasn't any doubt where the little girl learned her glare from. "Unless they pass the tests for early placement, Mrs. Hughes. Which my Gwendolyn did with flying colors and so did - " Mrs. Tennyson started and stopped as she shot up and down the hall before she let out a sigh. "Of course they're late."

"They are?" Anna asked as she looked over all the kids that were _finally _starting for their classrooms even as they kept babbling happily to each other, but… Then she shook her head as she looked at the little girl in front of her. The one who was _precious _and looked a good five months younger and three inches shorter than everyone else. "It's - it's not just a question of intelligence, Ma'am, but…" she tried to say before she melted under the matching glares.

If the office thought it was okay….

"Go pick out a seat, Honey," Anna heard the words leave her mouth even as her stomach turned into a knot as she watched the tiny thing grin again.

The knot only got bigger as the girl hugged her mom's knee before she went dashing in as she called out, "Ben! Ben!"

"She's so small," Anna whispered.

She thought she whispered it to herself until she heard Mrs. Tennyson clear her throat, but at least she had the grace to look nervous as she kept looking up the hall. It was more than most of the mom's in this school would do. "My daughter can - "

There weren't words for how tight the knot in Anna's stomach got as the girl came charging back out. "Mommy! Ben's not here! You gotta - " she started as her breath came in little gasps.

Anna shot a look to her aide who didn't even waste the time it would take to nod before she dashed for the desk and the candy that was waiting because they could both _feel_ the meltdown coming as the little girl stomped her tiny foot, but that wasn't what made Anna frown. That was her running through the list of her students in her head. "I don't have a Ben - "

That was as far as she got before Mrs. Tennyson sighed and knelt. Marie could have sworn that she heard the woman murmur, "We were supposed to do this _together_," under her breath. Not that the words or the hurt behind them made _any_ sense. The next ones did as she hugged the little girl to her. "There were too many kids this year and Ben's mommy and daddy signed him up too late, Silly Bean, so he was put in the other kindergarten. Your daddy and I didn't want to tell you because I was _sure_ that we could fix it. Ben's mommy and daddy didn't tell him either and we've been trying ever since we found out last week, but…"

Anna wanted to cry as the little girl pulled away from her mom and stared at her with wet eyes that just made the green brighter. "But - but - "

"You'll still see your friend at recess and lunch, Honey!" Anna burst in as she clutched her hands over her chest because she had to say _something_.

The little girl spun her head around so fast that her long, bright red hair trailed after her like a comet's tail, "but…" she tried as tears ran down her face.

"Gwendolyn Rose!" Mrs. Tennyson said even as she dug a tissue out of her purse and wiped away them away. "What did I tell you?"

"Ladies don't cwy," the girl said, and she sounded _miserable _as she said it.

"That's right," Mrs. Tennyson said as she pressed a kiss into her daughter's forehead and then wiped that away, too. "You heard Mrs. Hughes. You'll see Ben plenty, and you'll make lots more friends, too. Now - " she started just as the bell rang and it was loud enough that it almost hid the way that the woman sniffed, too. "Now, go with Mrs. Hughes and have fun."

"Okay, Mommy," little Gwen whispered and sniffled as she looked down at her feet. The girl didn't fight it at all as Anna reached over and took her hand and led her in.

She didn't even seem to notice as the tissue went to her mother's eyes, but Anna did. "Your mommy is right," Anna said to both of them as she gave the woman a smile and closed the door with the other hand. "I have a treat in my desk for brave little girls, and I think that someone saved a seat for you."

Gwendolyn sniffed and kept looking around, curious despite everything. Curious and worried. She saw the little lips move, but she couldn't hear a sound. "What was that, Honey?"

"What if they don't like me?" Gwen whispered, her lip quivering. "There was a mean girl at the park, and a boy at the libwawy who pushed Ben and… and I have to…"

All the HR rules in the world wouldn't have kept Anna from hugging the little girl then, or from squeezing her hand when she took it again and lead her to the desk up front and the little blond girl who was scribbling like mad. "Marci? This is Gwen and I was wondering…"

"You're hair is so pretty!" Marci burst out with glee the second she saw Gwen. Then the lithe blonde was off her chair and running over before Anna even finished. She might have felt the little red head squeeze her hand as and if she did, she didn't blame the girl one bit. Then the two girls were hugging - well, Marci was hugging while Gwen just stood there wide-eyed, but the girl didn't cry or yell even as she was pulled to the desk. The little blond babbled the whole time. "You're so tiny! Tiny like my dolly! We'll be best fwiends forever just like me and Buttercup! Come on! We have crayons and I'll share!"

There was something like a smile on Gwen's face as she pulled herself up into her chair and Marci pulled hers over so they could sit close, but Anna watched those green eyes keep looking around and her bottom lip quivered the whole time class went on.

\- o - o - o - o - o -

"Dey have a jungle gym!" Anna heard a little boy shout the second the other door opened and she only jumped a little even as it made her kids yell, too.

"Mr. Flint, what did I just say?" A British voice called out and Anna hid her smile behind her hand as she glanced away from her kids as they chased each other around the yard. Especially the flashes of red and blond hair as they dodged this way and that through the playground in a game that might have been hide and seek if the giggles didn't keep giving them away.

"Marci! Gwen!" Anna called out for the third time as a brunette woman with messy hair led her kids out in a line that was just barely holding together even before she sighed, "All right, you can go play." They both watched their classes scatter as the other woman all but staggered over to the bench that Anna had already claimed.

"Bad day?" Anna asked as she held up the bag of apple slices that she'd been snacking on.

"Horrible," the other woman said with a tired smile as she sank down on the bench, too - only she made it look _graceful. _If Anna didn't love the older woman so much… "Apple slices, really?"

Anna just shrugged because this was all part of the game. "My kids get hungry, and I can't _make _them eat the stuff that you call food," Anna said and she bit down just so the apple crunched like none of the woman's homemade dishes ever did.

"That's because none of you Yanks know the slightest bit about culture or cuisine," Emma said as pushed her bushy brown hair out of her face and took a slice. Her eyes kept moving just like Anna's did, or they were until she heard what the woman muttered next. "And we know how to let kids be kids."

"You went to a boarding school!" Anna said, suddenly defensive as she looked for and saw Gwen again.

Their mad dash must have been over because she was sitting by the sandbox with Marci and Blair, but only the blond and the little Chinese girl were smiling as they sat there on either side of the little girl and tried to pass her back and forth as they pretended to feed her as the pinched look on Gwen's face got deeper and deeper until she finally pushed away and shouted, " - not a _baby!" _

Anna sighed and called out, "Play a game you'll all enjoy, girls!" They did after that. Kind of. The little Chinese girl was just staring at Gwen's red hair or looking at Marci like whatever the girl was saying was the most important thing in the world while Gwen kept looking around as her pout got bigger and bigger. Big enough that Anna started to get up when the woman next to her let out a snort.

"When I was _eight,"_ Emma said like Anna hadn't just yelled across the playground. She kept her voice low, but there wasn't any hiding the annoyance in her words. "Not _four!" _

"This isn't - !" Anna tried even as her stomach clenched. She didn't even bother to wonder how the woman knew already. It was Emma. The woman was just _magic. _"And Gwen's very bright for her age!" Which was _such _an understatement. Most of her kids knew some of the alphabet and their numbers, but Gwen knew them _all. _And how to read a clock, but still… "I can see why her mom - !"

"Her?" Emma asked as she turned and blinked. "Who's Gwen? I was talking about…" the woman sighed and dug the toes of her black shoes into the grass. "The boy in my class is bright, too, but… My God, Anna! Ben's not even five! He should be at home playing!" She shook her head. "You people are always in such a _rush_. I don't care what the office says, if his mother hadn't left when he started… I was so ready to give her a piece of my _mind!_"

"That poor woman," Anna said and it should have been a joke. It might have been if she wasn't so sure that her friend was talking about the lady with dirty blond hair who rushed away in tears. The same worry that almost made her chase the woman made her look around at all the boys that had come charging out, but none of them looked all that upset. "Which one is he? It looks like he's - "

"He's not out yet. He's why we're late," Emma muttered as she crossed her legs and kicked her foot. Then she sighed and took another apple slice before she sighed. "He's been sullen all day since that tantrum this morning, or he _was _until I said we were coming out here to have recess with your class and then he just charged for the door. I had to leave him inside with Cathy because he just wouldn't wait and get in line. I swear that that the only reason I'm not still in there is because I told him he'd spend all of recess inside if he didn't sit _still._" The words were so firm, but it didn't hide the way she sighed. "I can't even be mad at him. He's _four. _He should he playing at home with his friend, not…"

"His friend?" Anna asked as she looked at her little red haired girl again.

There was another little sigh and smaller nod. "A girl named Gwen. He's been going on about how they were supposed to be in class together all day. It would be sweet if he wasn't so..."

_Gwen?! _

"What did you say - ?" she started as Emma's door flew open again and a brown haired ball of energy came bursting out into the yard. He was a tiny stick of a boy who made even Gwen look tall and she could just see the other boys sizing him up already.

What was his mom _thinking? _

Not that the boy _cared _about that any more than he seemed to about keeping his messy brown hair neat. "You couldn't…" Anna asked as she patted her own hair as she tried to _think_. Neatness was a _rule - _especially in Angelwood - and an even better way to stall.

"He threw an absolute _fit _when I tried," Emma sighed again as she patted her purse. Then she shook her head and let out a little chuckle. "He has the will of someone twice his age, I'll give his mum that."

The lungs of one, too, Anna thought, as the boy looked all around and bellowed, "Gwen! Gwen! Marco!"

"Polo!" That was the only warning before a red blur shot by. That and the giggle as Gwen all but tackled the tiny boy and they both went to the grass.

"Gwendolyn!" Anna sucked in a breath and Emma gasped as they both shot to their feet, but the two just giggled as they hugged each other instead of crying or screaming.

At least until Gwen pulled away and scrambled back up to her feet and looked the boy over. Then she covered her mouth with both her of pudgy little hands as she burst out in more giggles. "You look silly!"

"Do not!" The boy shouted right back at her as he jumped up to his feet, his face going red with indignation as he shoved his hands over his shirt and knee length pants. "I look like daddy when he's being important!" Then he let out a bark of a laugh as he pointed right back. "And you're wearing a dwess!"

"Am not!" Gwen said as she stomped her tiny foot. "I'm wearing a skirt!"

"Silly!"

"Shut up!"

"Benjamin Tennyson!" Emma shouted as she hurried over even as the two stood toe to toe as Anna followed just a little slower because she could see them both grinning like this was the best day of their lives and they were kids at recess. They could shout a little. It wasn't like they were the only ones doing it.

Besides, it was all she could do not to join in. She might have if she didn't almost choke on the bit of apple that she'd been chewing on. "Tennyson?" She asked as soon as she could say _anything. _"Did you just say Tennyson?"

"If I say yes will you chew this time?" Emma said as she gave Anna worried look. "Why?"

A look that Anna barely saw as she stared at the two, who were still arguing and grinning all at the same time. "I wonder if they're…" she started to say brother and sister before she remembered that she'd seen both of their moms. Maybe it was just a coincidence?

She _almost _believed that until Marci came running up, her eyes wide with worry as she skidded to a stop next to Gwen and glared at Ben and they both spun to her. Maybe, just maybe the fact that they had the same chin could be explained away, but those emerald green eyes? They _had _to be related somehow. Then it didn't matter, not after the blond girl who looked so small to Anna even though she towered over the other two grabbed Gwen by the hand and tried to pull her away. "Gwen?! Gwen?! Are you okay? Who is dis - dis _doofus!" _

"AM NOT!" Ben shouted at her even as his face flushed red and he somehow pulled Gwen out of the other girl's grip.

But he wasn't the one who pushed Marci down. "My Ben is not a doofus!" Gwen shouted down, her face fierce enough that Marci just stared for a second before her hands went to her eyes and the tears started.

"Gwendolyn Tennyson!" Anna didn't shout the name, but her raised voice made every last one of the twenty kids in the playground stop dead and made a couple of them start sniffling even as the other woman sucked in a breath at the name and gave her a look. She tried her best to ignore all of that just like she did how pale the girl got as she spun around and stared up, or how Ben slipped in front of her, his face as red as Gwen's was white. If he were any taller… But he wasn't and Anna glared right over his head as she marched over. "We do not _shove _on this playground, Young Lady!"

"I - I - " Gwen started as she stared up and she worried at her tiny hands.

Ben took a step forward and his glare was _precious. _"Gwen didn't!"

"We don't lie, either, Benjamin!" Emma said, her voice clipped and so British that the boy actually took a step back.

But he didn't back down. "Not! She started it!" Ben said as he glared down at the blond girl who was still crying like this was the end of the world, but it didn't take Sherlock Holmes to see that her face was mostly dry under her hands.

"We don't name call either, Ms. Hunter," Anna said, her voice just a little softer but it still brought the thunder just so she wouldn't tear up, too.

Or yell at her friend, because the little girl was _hurt,_ but Emma looked like she was fighting a grin as she knelt down. "Or pretend we're crying." The loud crying died down as Anna gasped and one surprised blue eye peaked out from between fingers. Then Emma leaned in and whispered, "Not that you're bad, but I'm _British, _young lady, and I could teach you a thing or two about acting."

"I was just…" Marci sniffed after a second and this time it sounded real. Real enough that there were a few tears on her cheeks when she dropped her hands. She sounded so small as she looked up at the tiny boy and girl in front of her and whispered, "I thought he was being _mean_."

"We still don't name call," Anna said, and she finally let her voice drop just a little as Emma helped the girl to her feet and brushed the wood chips off of her, "but this is why we're here. To learn how to do stuff like tie your shoes and read a book and say you're sorry."

Anna watched the three of them - four since Blair was standing just off to the side and glaring at Gwen - and tried not to think of the year she spent as an aide in middle school before she got this job. The kids there would have been at each other's throats for _months _after this, not hanging their heads. Not _thinking. _All except for Ben, who just kept glaring.

Right up until Gwen reached out and took his hand. "That's what Gwandpa says, too," the little girl said in a low voice that wasn't a whisper and the boy finally let the scowl melt away as the little girl looked at the other. "I'm sorry I pushed you."

Marci blinked and stared down at her feet as she shuffled them. "Sorry I called your boyfriend names." The words were said so soft, not that they mattered.

"I'm not her boyfriend!" Ben said, suddenly hot again as Marci, Blair and Gwen all started to giggle. "I'm her Ben!"

"Dat's right!" Gwen declared as her giggles melted away and she just looked fierce as she squeezed the boy's hand again and it was all Anna could do not to laugh, and that only lasted until she heard the little sputtered giggle come from next to her.

"Good. I'm glad that's settled. We only have ten minutes left, so go and play!" Anna said as she gave her friend a look as the kids disappeared.

"Oh, shut up," Emma whispered right back as they went back to their bench. "That was _adorable." _Then the woman let out a sigh that sounded much more like the noises that Anna heard on Masterpiece theater than the giggle did. "No wonder he was so upset when he found out..."

Anna just nodded as he watched the two start arguing again in the middle of the field, with Ben pointing at the teeter-totter and Gwen at her two new friends until the redhead's eyes got big again and there was more giggling as she pulled the two girls over. For some reason, Anna wasn't surprised at all as she watched Ben and Gwen jump on one side and the girls on the other. "She's completely different around him," Anna agreed with a sigh. She couldn't help staring at the little girl's wide grin as they shot up into the sky. It was so different from what she saw for the first few hours.

And from what she saw when the bell finally went off again. "Wanna stay with Gwen!" Ben shouted the second Emma got him off of the swings, and the little girl just nodded and glared and squeezed his hand again as she jumped off of hers.

"You'll see her again at lunch, Benjamin," Emma said as she tried to pull the two apart.

Tried and tried, but she didn't manage until Anna came to help pry their fingers apart. "School is _stupid!" _Gwen shouted, as mad as Anna had ever heard a kindergartner as she glared up.

"It is what it is," Anna said as she all but pulled the little girl back to their door and tried to ignore the eyes she felt burning into the back of her head and the commotion that Ben was making, a noise that only stopped when the door closed behind them. "It is what it is," she told the girl again because it was.

And that was that.

\- o - o - o - o - o -

_August 27th, 1992 C.E._

_10:47 A.M._

That _wasn't_ that, but she didn't figure that out until two days later and five minutes after recess as she pointed at the big and stylized **T** that she'd just finished drawing on the board. "Who can tell me something that they saw outside that started with this letter?"

The question should have been a boring one with all the trees that surrounded the school, but they always thought of _something _that surprised her. It usually wasn't right, but it was still so much fun, and today didn't disappoint. "My twain!" A little boy called out.

And everyone giggled, but especially Gwen, which was unusual. Gwen was so quiet when she was in class.

Anna scowled at that as she turned and said, "That's right, Julio!" As brightly as he could just to make the boy feel better as the girls' giggles kept coming. She didn't know why, but it wasn't like the kids needed an excuse. "Who else?"

"Gwen!" A boy whose voice she knew all too well burst out.

So did the two "Shhhhhh!"s A second too late.

"Ben?!" Anna gasped as she spun around and saw the brown haired boy sharing Gwen's seat as he sat there between the red head and Marci at their table. He grinned up at her so wide that it showed off the two gaps where teeth were just coming in. "What are you - ?!"

She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't get a chance before the door to the playground was yanked open and a white faced Emma came spilling in. "Anna! Have you seen - ?" The terror in her eyes didn't go away, but the panic was washed away be a relieved fury as she stomped over to the desk. "There you are, young man! Do you have _any_ idea how worried I was?!" The woman shouted for the first time ever as she stomped across the classroom for the boy who looked as ready to fight as run.

Then Gwen jumped between him and his teacher. "No!" She shouted so loud that her voice echoed as she stomped her foot and something flashed in those green eyes. "Mommy said we'd go to school together!"

"Gwendolyn!" Anna growled at the girl as she hurried over, too. "Do you _want _me to call your parents?!"

The little girl went so pale at that. Her and the boy behind her, but neither of them moved as Ben just shouted, "Mommy said!"

It didn't help. Neither did the way that they both started screaming as Emma grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the room.

\- o - o - o - o - o -

_August 28th, 1992 C.E._

_8:08 A.M._

"-son?" Anna called out one last time, just in case, before her eyes settled on the empty seat next to Marci, who just looked _miserable _as she sat there and looked at the spot that her best friend should have been. "Gwen must be sick today," she said with the softest sigh because…

Because she shouldn't feel _relieved_ that one of her babies were sick, but she _was. _After the last week, after all the fights and all the spots that she'd found the little boy in - and she _still _didn't know how he'd hidden under Gwen's table! There wasn't an _under! _Somehow he pressed himself up against the side and just _blended. _She didn't even _know _how many times Emma came storming in after that first day, she just knew…

It wasn't the kids _fault._ It was the _Office's. _Anna tried to remember that, she really did, but today, she was relieved and she felt sick because of it. Almost as sick as Marci looked as she sat there and just stared at her little hands. "How are you feeling, Marci? Do you need to see the nurse?" Anna asked, worry making her voice even softer.

It should have been soothing, not make the girl look even more miserable as she shook her head and stared down at her feet. Miserable enough that Anna made her way over and sat down on the edge of her desk, ready to reach over just in case the girl did have a fever or spring back if it was an upset stomach. "Then what's wrong, honey? Gwen will be back tomorrow."

"I - " Marci started and sniffed as she clutched at her hands.

"Don't tell!" Blair shouted out from the next desk over.

Anna felt her smile vanish as she looked up at the other girl and felt her stomach twist _again_. "Tell _what, _Blair?"

"Gwen's here," Marci sniffed and once those two words slipped out the rest rushed out after. "I _saw _her! But she said that you said that Ben couldn't come in here no more, so she…" Then those little blue eyes went wide as her hands went to her mouth, but it didn't stop the words or the wailed, "Don't tell her I told!"

Anna knew that she should have reassured the girl - the _girls - _but she didn't. She just rushed for her door and then the next one down the hall. She pulled it open as she felt her own explosion of words building, including one or two she _swore _she'd never say in front of her kids, but they almost slipped out anyway when she saw the little red haired girl sharing a chair with the brown haired boy again.

Especially when her friend gave her a helpless look and a shrug as she made her way over even as she said, "That's right, Gwen! Aardvark does start with an A!"

"What are you - ?!" Anna hissed as the two kids turned and went pale as they grabbed for each others hands again like they had every day this week when they thought that they were going to get separated, but it was the look on their faces…

She loved it when her kids smiled and hated it when they cried, but these two were the only ones she'd ever seen _scowl _like that. Like they were daring the world to pull them apart, and for the first time ever she saw the other teacher flinch. "I know!" Emma said, her words in a rush, "I know, but we've been fighting with them all week and - "

"Fine!" Anna said as she threw her hands up. "Just for today, you two! Do you hear me?" They did. The way that they cheered as they rushed over and hugged her proved that. It was the idea of a quiet day that made her smile at them, that was all, and she didn't feel even a little jealous as they rushed back to their shared seat.

Not even a smidge.

\- o - o - o - o - o -

"Why couldn't that boy have just gone to Drake?" Emma sighed as she pulled herself into teachers lounge and all but collapsed into her chair now that both of their classes were over.

Anna looked up from her water and tried not to wish that there was something stronger in it. "He was that bad?"

Emma just grinned at that as she pulled her water bottle out of the fridge and let herself collapse into the table. "Hardly. Today was the best Ben has been all _week. _He's a completely different child when Gwen's with him. Happy, attentive, and the way he shares his snacks with her... I swear, it should be illegal to be that cute."

"Lucky," Anna said as some of her jealousy came out. For getting to see that and because she wished she had someone who would share his snacks with _her. _"And Gwen?"

"She _glowed _the whole time, even when they're arguing, the little trollop," Emma said with a tired laugh. "And she knows everything already. They both do. It must be a joy to have her in your class."

"If I got _that _Gwen," Anna sighed. A glowing one instead one that glowered and looked ready to climb the walls? She wished… "Today is going to make the rest of the week all the harder when we have to separate them again."

"I _know," _Emma groaned as she buried her face into her arms. "I might just quit. One week was enough. I'm not sure if I have it in me to keep fighting those two."

"This is all the Office's fault," Anna grumbled as Emma just nodded and pushed herself up just enough to take a drink. "We should make them come down and - " And that was as far as she got before Emma spat the water across the table. "Hey!" She shouted as she sprang up, half soaked and glaring even though water wasn't the worst thing that she'd had spat on her. It wasn't even in the top ten. "What's the - !"

Emma coughed up the rest of the water. "That's simply _brilliant, _Anna!" The woman said and tried to explain at the same time and she mostly managed.

She did well enough that Anna forgot all about how cross she was as she dug into her pocket. "Let's flip for it!" She said and the coin was in the air before she even finished the sentence.

\- o - o - o - o - o -

_September 1st, 1992_

_7:59 am _

Anna had to look and look that morning, but for some reason she wasn't the least bit surprised when she found the two huddled together back by the bookcases that she'd seen Gwen flee to during every quiet time.

"Dey going to make you go away again," Gwen groaned as she sat there with the little boy pressed up against her, misery making her sound even younger as she forgot all about being a little lady.

Ben's own growl mushed his words together even as he grabbed her hand and declared, "I liketa see them twy!"

"Ben?" Anna called out and the boy jumped, but he didn't look any less fierce. "Gwen? Ben? Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Why?" Gwen asked as she squinted up in a way no four year old ever should.

Anna shouldn't have laughed, she knew that she shouldn't. This whole thing was probably a bad idea, but she sat down anyway and smoothed out her dress as she did. "Because I talked to the Office over the weekend and they said that they made a mistake. Two people got put in the wrong classes and we're going to fix that today!" Anna grinned and waited, but as smart as they were, the two just blinked at that and Anna knew it was all her fault. She spent too long talking to the adults in the Office over the weekend. "If you want, Ben, you can stay - "

That was as far as she got before the happy squeals and hugs started. Anna just about joined them before they pulled apart and grabbed her up in their hug, too, and then Gwen took the boy by the hand and all but dragged him to her desk across the room. "Marci! Marci! Guess what! Ms. Anna said that Ben could - !"

"Ms. Hunter?" Emma called out from the door and the room went quiet. The British woman gave Anna a jealous look as she looked at the two cousins and then she smiled at their little blond friend. "I've been checking my books and I think you're in the wrong class. It turns out that mine could use a little actress in it, so If you'll come with me…"

"What?!" Marci gasped out, her blue eyes watering as she looked at Emma and then Anna. "Why?"

"The office switched you and Ben," Anna tried to explain, and when the little girl let out a sob she tried to take the blame. "It was all my - "

"You!" Marci howled as she jumped out of her seat and shoved Gwen to the carpet. "Why! We were _friends!" _She spat the words out as she cried and cried. "Why's he so _special?" _

"I - I - " Gwen tried and tried to explain. "He's my Ben," she finally settled on because it was true and not enough. "But we are fwiends! And we can still play at recess and - "

"Shut up! Shut up! I _hate _you!" Marci screamed and kept screaming even as Emma scooped the girl up and carried her from the room. Anna's stomach twisted one more time as everyone stared because she knew that none of the tears that were racking the blond's little body were the least bit fake this time.

"It's my fault, you two," Anna said finally as Ben helped Gwen up and the girl sagged into him. "I was the one who picked…"

"I'm her Ben," Ben said into Gwen's hair like it explained everything, but even he sounded a little sad at that. "Mommy said we'd go to school together."

"I know, Honey. Take your seat. I'm just going to take this to Marci." And maybe beg for forgiveness, but she really did think that Marci would do better in Emma's class. As much as she hated to admit it, the girl needed a teacher that could see through the fake tears. Emma could teach her how to be a lady far better than Anna could.

Gwen sniffed and looked at the papers and crayons that Anna was scooping up and slipping into the backpack that Marci had left behind. "Can I make her something? To say sowwy?"

"Together?" Ben said with a nod.

"Of course you can," Anna said as she watched the two open their tiny backpacks and grab their crayons. Crayons that they passed back and forth without a word as they worked on the same piece of paper. "And when we get back we'll learn about dinosaurs! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"We can tell Marci at recess!" Ben said, his eyes glowing like little boys eyes always did when dinosaurs came up.

"Maybe give her a bit of time first," Anna said and Gwen just nodded. But honestly, it was kindergarten, how long could Marci stay mad?

Nowhere near as long as these two would have stayed miserable if they'd been kept apart. Anna knew that just from the way she watched the two work together from the door as she hugged the tiny backpack tight against her chest. "Inside the lines!" Gwen shouted at him as they scribbled on the page, a mixture of wild sweeping crayon brushes and slow, determined strokes that was just starting to look like a dinosaur. One that was… "And dinosaurs aren't _blue!" _

"Are too! And that's no fun!" Ben shouted right back even as he leaned in closer to her. It was a little startling to see, because in the week that Anna had gotten to know Gwen, she'd discovered that the little girl _hated_ being touched and hugged and jostled by Marci and Blair, because she'd always gone rigid and her face went squinty. But here was Ben, her cousin, pressed up alongside her, who'd constantly held her hand and snuggled and even gotten tackled by her out on the playground, and she looked as relaxed as Anna always wished she was. And for all the arguing, Ben lost the scowl that she saw marring his face so often and just grinned like being with her was the best thing ever. Even better than Christmas.

So maybe they did belong together after all.


	3. Chapter 2: The Kids Run Away

**Chapter 2: The Kids Run Away**

By Eric 'Erico' Lawson

* * *

_Angelwood Elementary_

_Bellwood, California_

_March 15th, 1993 C.E._

_3:45 P.M._

It was a Monday, and Sandra Tennyson was already on edge when she got the call from Lili asking her if she could pick up both of the kids from school because of an appointment that got rescheduled. Nothing good ever happened on a Monday.

Still, she agreed, and then Lili had called the school to let them know that Sandra would be getting both of the children. She loved her niece to pieces, and she and Ben were inseparable. Thinking about those first weeks at school still put a smile on her face. They'd refused to be split apart, and in the end, their teachers had decided it would just be easier to let them stay in the same class than having them constantly trying to sneak into the other's room.

Going through the pick-up lane was a chore, but the waiting was worth it when the kids came running out with their tiny backpacks, grinning up a storm. Ben was a bundle of energy that dashed like a rocket, and he kept Gwen's hand in his own, pulling her behind him while the two laughed, paying no attention to the traffic monitor in the orange reflective vest that yelled at them to slow down. Sandra just sighed and rolled her eyes as they hit the side of her minivan, then got out and walked around to hug them both and open up the door for them.

"You don't have to run, Ben, I wasn't going anywhere." She pointed out, helping them climb in and buckle up in the second row of seats. "How was school today, you two?"

"Great, Aunt Sandy!" Gwen chirped up, her green eyes bright. "Can I stay over tonight?"

"Yeah! Can she, mom?" Ben quickly added, and the two worked up their eager pleading faces.

"Not on a school night." She said to them firmly, intent on not giving into them. They kept the stares up and she sighed as she finished helping Gwen get buckled in. "But, I think we could probably let you stay for dinner. I'm sure that your mother wouldn't mind that." She conceded, and the two cheered.

Sandy rolled her eyes as she shut the side door and walked back around to the driver's side door. She was a soft touch with the two of them, and they knew it. Besides, she was making tuna fish casserole with potato chip topping tonight, there was bound to be extra. Lili might appreciate being able to have a meal with Frank alone for once.

"...and then we can play superheroes, and…" Ben was still talking when she opened her door and climbed in.

"I get to wear the cape!" Gwen insisted.

"Nuh uh, s'mine!" Ben countered with a pout.

"Pleaaaaase?" Gwen asked, turning her pout on him. Ben crossed his arms and tried to frown at her, but he cracked in seconds and shook his head.

"Okay, okay." He surrendered.

Sandra looked at the two of them, now five years old, in her rearview mirror and grinned. Ben's cousin had him wrapped around her finger, all right. She almost felt sorry for him.

"Hey, mom, can we have juice and animal crackers when we get home?" Ben asked her suddenly.

Sandra sighed and shook her head as she drove out of the pickup lane and turned onto the street.

She _almost_ felt sorry for him.

* * *

_Ben's House_

_4:40 P.M._

The casserole had another 30 minutes to go in the oven and Sandra was working on the salad when the doorbell went off. She looked up the stairs as she passed by, listening to Ben and Gwen playing and occasionally letting out a high-pitched laugh or shout, then smiled and went to the front door.

It was Lili, naturally, and Sandra gave her a smile and stepped to the side. The red-haired woman looked particularly exhausted, and was already wearing a scowl. Wonderful. Still, she made the attempt. "Hi, Lili. How are things?"

"They've been better." Lili growled out, walking inside. "The tree pruners who were supposed to come out canceled, but they waited until an hour after their appointment to let me know about it."

"I'm sorry to hear that." Sandra consoled her as she closed the front door. "The kids are upstairs playing." She chuckled a bit, wanting to change the subject to get Lili to relax. "They wanted to have a sleepover."

"On a school night?" Lili scoffed, marching to the bottom of the stairs. "Gwendolyn! Honey, it's time to go!"

The noises of the kids playing stopped, and Sandra joined Lili at the stairs. "That's what I said." She laughed. "But they did talk me into letting Gwen stay for dinner."

"There you go again." Lili muttered under her breath as she pressed a hand to her forehead. She pulled it down and looked at Sandra crisply. "Thank you, but no. I've inconvenienced you enough today, I think."

"Oh, it's no trouble." Sandra insisted. "Dinner's already in and cooking, and it seems like you've had a horrible day. Why don't you and Frank go out for dinner, or stay in and relax? Gwen can have dinner with us and then you can pick her up afterwards."

Lili bristled at the idea and turned to face her. "I'm a capable mother, you know. I don't need you _looking after_ my little girl for me."

Sandra recoiled at the blow, and the last bit of her tolerance wore itself out. She snapped back at the woman with everything that a Monday could give her. "Hey, I was just trying to be _nice_ for once, Lili. And if you didn't need me looking after your little girl then why did you bother asking me to pick her up at all?"

"Because I…!" Lili started, but froze, and so did Sandra as they looked up the stairs and saw Ben and Gwen standing at the top of the steps, glaring at them. Gwen was even crying a little, it looked like, and Ben's tiny hands were balled up into fists and shaking.

Sandra exhaled. "Ben, honey? Can you take Gwen to your room for a while? Your Aunt Lili and I need to have a _talk_ out in the garage."

"Stop it." Ben hissed at them. "Just stop it."

"Ben!" Aunt Lili snapped up at him. "Don't you talk back to us that way, young man!" And that just set Sandra off all over again. Fuming, she grabbed the Other Woman by the wrist and stormed back into the kitchen, forcing Lili to stumble and keep up with her or get her arm pulled out of her socket.

She opened the door to the garage and let go of Lili's arm, half-expecting Lili to storm away from her. But Lili was apparently in the mood to fight after all; she slammed the door shut and took up position opposite of her beside the chest freezer.

"The hell do you think you're doing, yelling at my son?" Sandra snarled at her. "You don't _have the right to do that."_

"Oh, and _you_ have the right to just decide that Gwen can stay over for dinner without checking with me first?" Lili snapped back.

"I was _trying_ to do something nice for a change!" Sandra threw her arms up in the air. "Apparently that's a big goddamned deal with you!"

"It is when you're just trying to prove that you're a _better mother_ than I am!" The dark red-haired woman hissed. "I'm _so sorry_ that I inconvenienced you with asking you to pick up Gwendolyn. Trust me, that's one mistake I'll _never_ make again!"

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Sandra shrieked. "Do you end up lashing out at _everyone_ who tries to do something nice for you? Are you that damaged? Of course you'd have to be, with parents as _stiff_ and _stuck up_ as yours are!"

Lili sucked in a breath of air like she'd been punched in the gut, and her eyes went wide. Her hands twitched at her sides, like she wanted to hit Sandra, and she almost expected Lili to take a swing at her.

"If I wasn't a Lady…" She growled out. "I would make you _eat_ those words, Sandra."

"No, you're not the kind to hit people." Sandra simmered, shaking her head. "You just use your words, all of the time, putting others down, putting yourself above them. Because you're _perfect_, and it's never your fault, and the world would just be so much better if we all did exactly what you wanted us to do. I only hope your daughter takes more after Frank than she does you, because if she's really your daughter, she's going to end up just like you are. A miserable wreck of a woman wondering why the world _hates her!"_

Lili sucked in a sharp breath at that, then spun around. "We're leaving. And from now on, you stay the _hell_ away from my daughter. I won't have her growing up to be a wild hellion like your son." She jerked the door to the kitchen open and started in, and Sandra, seeing red, followed her.

"My son is _not_ a hellion!"

"You have _no idea_ how to be a proper mother, you parent from books." Lili shouted over her shoulder. "You think I'm a terrible mother?! At least I still _**talk to mine!**_"

Lili reached the steps going upstairs and stormed up, and Sandra just stood there at the bottom, watching with burning eyes and listening with sharp ears for Ben to so much as cry out once. Lili would drag Gwen away and didn't usually bother with Ben, but they were both so mad, if That Woman did something to hurt her son…

Silence. "Gwendolyn! Stop hiding and come out this instant!" Lili's resonant voice carried through the house, and Sandra blinked. Gwen was hiding? But hadn't the kids been up in Ben's room, playing?

Lili appeared at the top of the steps, frowning, but without the wild fury of before. She started down, still calling out loudly. "Gwendolyn Rose Tennyson, this is no time for games! We are _leaving_, and you…" She was halfway down the stairs when her voice choked off and her hazelnut-flecked green eyes widened. Sandra stared at her for a moment, wondering what had surprised her so, and turned to follow the woman's gaze.

Her heart stopped when she turned and saw the front door, wide open.

But...no, she had shut that door. Why would…

_No._ "No." Sandra whispered. "Ben? Honey? Gwen? Kids? Where are you?" She didn't dare walk to the front door, she couldn't...she didn't want to…

"I'll...They…" Lili stammered, all of her thunder and fury evaporated for quiet fear.

"Check the rest of the house." Sandra got out, already moving for the kitchen. She didn't wait to see if Lili complied, she just got back and saw…

A chair shoved up to the counter that she'd walked by before and hadn't seen. An open cupboard.

She didn't remember what happened after that. The next thing she remembered was running outside, Lili beside her, and the two of them screaming for their children who had disappeared.

* * *

_Rest-Full RV Campground_

_5:52 P.M._

Max Tennyson had found some measure of peace in his retirement. He still bounced around from place to place, but his pace was unhurried now. Now he had all the time in his life that he wanted, but he didn't have his Verdona to share it with. He did have his sons though, and their wives (His daughters). And he had two wonderful grandchildren that he hadn't seen enough of. But maybe he could change that, Max thought, as he stared at a map of northern California laid out over the dining table of his old RV. He still talked with his boys regularly, and he'd been warming them up to the idea of another camping trip this summer, something for about three days maybe.

May was around the corner, and maybe they could all go up to Verdona's pond. He usually just went by himself. It would be good if he wasn't alone for once. And he'd been meaning to teach Gwen how to fish. If he could get Carl and Sandy to sign off on it, they could make a full day of it.

His stomach growled at him, and Max sighed and got up off of the bench. A look at his watch confirmed that it really was getting late. He didn't feel like running out for a bite to eat, but he could probably rustle up something decent in the icebox with what he had left. A grilled salmon and cheese, maybe…

Then his mind stopped running through dinner choices when he heard a soft knock on the side of the RV. One of the neighbors? A couple of days ago, Mrs. Jenkins had introduced herself and asked for some lighter fluid, then invited him over to dinner with her and her husband. It was hard to turn down free hamburgers. Of course, they were gone now, but there was always some other traveling retiree passing through that needed something, and they were full of stories and news. It was almost as good as going there himself.

Max went over to the side door and opened it with a smile, wondering what new neighbor was going to introduce themselves tonight…

His smile froze on his face when he looked down and saw his grandchildren standing there, Ben was sniffling and trying to be strong, and Gwen's lower lip was quivering under red eyes. She was still wearing her school uniform, Ben had changed into one of his shirts, and his jacket was flung over her shoulders. He had his bookbag hanging off of one of his arms, and the other gripped her hand tightly.

"Ben? Gwen?" Max whispered, and stumbled outside to kneel down and pull them in close for a powerful hug. Gwen broke apart as soon as his arms went around them, and his shoulder got soaked with her tears. "Honey, what's wrong? What happened? Where'd you two come from?"

"We ran away." Ben mumbled into his other shoulder. "Can we stay with you, Grandpa?"

"Of course you can." Max shushed them, and he picked them both up with just the barest creak of complaint from his knees. It was the work of seconds to bring them inside the Rustbucket, and he set them down on the floor. "I didn't know you were coming." He said carefully, moving to fold up his map and gesturing for them to sit down in the dining nook. They never let go of the other's hand, he realized, as they made their way over after him and climbed up onto the bench seat opposite of his. "Why are you running away?"

"...Are you gonna be mad at us?" Ben asked, and Gwen whimpered a little and tried to hide her face in her cousin's chest. Max's breathing hitched a little at the sight of his granddaughter crying and his grandson looking two seconds from it himself.

"No. Never." He quickly got out, and reached a hand across the table, palm up. "I just want to know what happened. I promise you two, I'm not mad at you. I just wasn't expecting to see you."

"Our moms were fighting." Gwen mumbled, lifting her head away from Ben just enough to be heard clearly.

"Again." Ben muttered, and the scowl that Max's grandson wore was one that he had no business wearing. "They always fighting."

"Always?" Max raised an eyebrow, questioning. Ben's glare deepened. He believed in what he was saying. Max swallowed down the burst of fear that caused. "Well. How'd you get here? Did you two walk all the way from your house, Ben?"

"Yeah." The boy sniffled, and set his bag down on the table. Max reached for it and zipped it open, and found two empty juice boxes and the wrapper from a small package of peanut butter crackers. "I was smart. We took food."

"Yes, you did." Max agreed, changing his voice from concerned to serious. Ben wanted to be serious right now, and Max could match that. "I don't think you packed enough, though."

He looked down at the table and shrugged, then pulled Gwen closer against him. "Had to go." Ben said softly. "Too much yelling."

"Why can they fight?" Gwen asked, wiping her nose on the sleeve of Ben's jacket before finally turning the same dark green eyes of her grandmother on Max. They were red, and still full of tears, but he still froze for an instant as the reminder of his wife hung there in front of him. "Mom says yelling and fighting's bad. How come they can do it and we can't?"

"Adults forget the rules sometimes." Max breathed out, putting his own pain aside. Right now, his grandkids needed him. He was damned if he'd ever fail Gwen and Ben. "It's wrong when they do. And they need to be reminded about that sometimes, just like kids do."

"Do they fight because of me?" Ben asked, miserable. Max blinked rapidly, and he could see the same question in Gwen's eyes as well.

"It is _not_ your fault." Max declared, and he got up from his seat and moved to kneel beside the table, setting his hands on their shoulders. "Okay? Your moms love you, both of you, they love you more than anything. If they get mad at each other, it's not because of you. It is not your fault, Ben, and it isn't yours either, pumpkin."

"Really?" Gwen sniffed.

"Really." Max said, and leaned up and over enough to hug them both again. "Now. I was just thinking about getting dinner started. Are you two as hungry as I am?"

The two kids fidgeted a little and looked at each other, and Ben finally looked up to his grandpa and nodded once, definitively.

"I don't have a whole lot in the fridge. How do you two feel about pizza? You want some pizza?" Max asked with a smile. He was relieved that they both started smiling again after that, with Gwen nodding eagerly.

"Haw'iiin!" She declared, and Ben made a face. Max laughed. "Okay, pumpkin. Hawaiian, huh? And you, sport?"

"I 'unno. No pi'apple." Ben grumbled. Max winked.

"No pineapple. How about sausage and olives?"

"Bwack olives?"

"Sure."

"Okay." Ben nodded. Max grinned and looked over to his small TV hooked up with massive rabbit ears over by the folded up bunks.

"Hey, how about I pull a bunk down so you two can get comfy and watch a little TV while I get the pizzas ordered? And I think you two deserve some hot chocolate. Walking as far as you did? That's something."

They cheered at that, and Max laughed, relieved at how quickly they could bounce back from almost falling apart crying. They were strong, his grandkids. They felt safe, they felt loved, and they were with their grandpa. He set the microwave to warm up some water while he was getting the bunk ready, and once they were watching cartoons, he set two mugs of hot cocoa (lukewarm) in their hands with three jumbo marshmallows floating on top of each of them.

It warmed his heart when he saw Ben take one of his marshmallows and put it in Gwen's mug, setting it on top of the others. "You take it, Gwen." He insisted, and she looked at him for a bit before popping it in her mouth. When she got done chewing it and swallowed it down, she giggled and leaned into his side, and Max felt calm enough to leave them be. He left them a towel over their legs while they were drinking their hot cocoa and a blanket behind them if they got cold, then grabbed his bag cellular phone and walked out of the Rustbucket, taking a lawn chair with him and locking the doors as he went.

They were safe. He breathed in slowly and breathed out even slower, then called up the local pizza delivery store and put in an order. A small hawaiian for Gwen, and a medium sausage and black olive for him and Ben. On afterthought, he included a bottle of decaf soda as well. He checked his wallet to make sure he had enough money for the tip after, then made the phone call he knew he had to make, but was dreading.

"_Hello?! Dad?" _

"Hi, Carl." Max greeted his youngest son, hearing the panic in his son's voice. It was a panic he could take away in seconds. "The kids are here with me."

"_Oh, thank God." _Carl gasped, and Max could hear him buckling under the weight of relief. "_Thank God. When Sandy called me half out of her mind, I...We thought…"_

"They're okay." Max said, forcing himself to stay calm. He needed to be the strong one now. "They're a little tired, apparently they walked all the way here from your house. Are Frank and Lili over there?"

"_They're out driving around the neighborhood right now with Sandy. We were just about ready to call the police. I…"_ There was the noise of Carl slumping down. Into a chair or on the floor, Max wasn't sure. Carl's breath shuddered. "_Why did they do this, dad?"_

Max knew why. The thing he hadn't known when he punched in the number to call Carl's house was how he was going to say it.

Now, in the moment, he finally did.

"They got tired of Lili and Sandra fighting." Max forced the words out in deadly calm. "And they thought that their moms were fighting because of something _they_ did. That it was _their_ fault."

"_What?" _Carl sounded poleaxed by the news. _Good._ Max wanted him poleaxed by it.

He wanted this whole business _done with._

If his Verdona were still...She would have known what to say to them. She would have been able to make his daughters friends again.

"_I...I'll talk to Sandy about it. And call Frank. He's got one of those car phones now, I can have him stop by and pick up the kids."_

"No." Max dismissed the idea. "No, I think the kids are better off staying with me tonight."

"_What? But dad, it's a school night!"_

"Right now, my grandchildren are hurting and tired. They were crying when they got to my door, Carl. _Crying._" Max growled out. "I don't know what's going on with Lili and Sandra, and I don't know if you and Frank are a part of the problem as well. They're in kindergarten, they can stand to miss a day of school. What they need right now is some time to put themselves back together. And that's also what you all need as well, I think. Some time to talk to each other about what's going on."

"_...Okay, dad. Okay." _Carl wasn't happy about the idea, but he wasn't really arguing against it. He must have been exhausted by the ordeal. "_You'll keep them safe?"_

"Of course I will." Max promised his youngest son. They were his grandkids. Nothing was going to hurt them while he was around. "But if you could, Carl, I wouldn't mind having some extra clothes for them. You could swing by and bring a bag. But just you, or Frank. I don't think it's a good idea for their moms to come by tonight."

"_I think I can get some stuff put together for Ben. I know Frank could get some things for Gwen as well. Thanks, dad. I'm sorry this all got dumped on you."_

"We're Tennysons, Carl." Max said. "We don't bother with the easy problems. I just want my family to all get along, and for my grandkids to feel safe enough that they never try to do this again." He shivered a little. So much could have gone horribly wrong. That they got to him in one piece…

They were all just way too lucky.

"_So what are you going to do with them tomorrow if they're not going to school?"_ Carl asked. Max smiled and eased back into his lawn chair.

"Well, I thought I might take them fishing." They spoke for another minute before Carl excused himself to get a hold of Frank and Lili, and then Max waited in the waning daylight for the pizza deliveryman to show up.

Twenty minutes later, when he stepped inside, he found the kids slumped on the bunk and curled up on the blanket against each other, still watching cartoons with dozy, lidded eyes. The promise of a decent (unhealthy) meal perked them up, and they dug in cheerfully. By the time they all finished up, Carl came by with two bags of clothes. The kids both froze up when he came in, but Carl just smiled at them, told them that they could stay with Grandpa tonight and that it was okay and he'd see them tomorrow night. That simple reassurance was as relaxing for Max as much as it was the kids, and Max and Carl shook hands before he left. With some fiddling, Ben and Gwen were soon dressed in their PJ's and ready for bed. Max started to get the top bunk set up, but Gwen cut him off.

"Wanna stay with Ben." She pouted, and there was such earnestness in her face that Max allowed it.

An hour after Max tucked them in, he walked back from the front of the RV where he'd been listening to a classic rock station on his radio on low volume and found the two curled up under the covers, side by side and cute as anything. He regretted not having a camera, and he smiled as he watched them for a few minutes before going to set up his own bed.

It was strange, feeling that he wasn't alone when he finally dozed off.

He slept easier than usual.

* * *

_11:10 P.M._

Carl Tennyson usually didn't have any trouble sleeping at all. His wife had complained that he could, and had, slept through thunderstorms before. To be certain, the night hadn't gone anything like he'd thought it would when he left work and came home. He found the house empty, his wife's minivan gone, and a note in the kitchen.

That the kids were gone. That Ben and Gwen were missing, and that she and Lili were out looking for them. He called Frank right after, then drove out and found Lili and Sandra and dragged them back home. Somebody had to stay by the phone, so when Frank got there, the girls went with him, and it had been Carl's responsibility to wait there in the empty house. Wait in a kitchen which smelled of overcooked tuna casserole, the dinner now sitting in the refrigerator to eat later. None of them were hungry, not with their stomach twisted into knots.

The call from his dad was unexpected, and it delivered relief and panic in equal measure. The kids had run away, and somehow found their way to the only safe place left to them in their grandfather's RV. It was a relief because they weren't hurt, they were safe and being taken care of.

It hurt because they didn't feel safe in his home. It hurt because Ben and Gwen didn't feel safe around their _parents._

When he called Frank and told them all to grab some clothes for Gwen and to come home, he'd expected resistance to the idea. They were _their _kids, they belonged back at home, safe. Sure enough, both Sandra and Lili argued against the idea of leaving them with their grandfather. Once they started in on each other, though…

Frank all but shoved the bag with Gwen's things into Carl's arms and stared at Sandra and Lili as he said that maybe the kids needed a break after all. Frank never did raise his voice too often. He always knew just what to say to be heard, though. And their wives had heard it clearly enough, based on how they both looked at each other, faces full of pain…

And they all finally saw why the kids had run away from home. Why Max was so mad.

He didn't usually have trouble sleeping, but tonight he snapped awake and wondered why everything felt wrong. Then he realized that the bed was half empty, and that his Sandy Bear, who usually slept snuggled up next to him, was gone.

The house was dark, and he didn't hear any movement from the kitchen or the living room. But he did see a light coming from Ben's room, and when he walked to the doorway and found it open, he saw his wife sitting on the floor in the glow of Ben's Kangaroo Kommando nightlight with her knees drawn up to her chest. She didn't look back at him as he came close, and instead just stared at the empty bed where their son should have been sleeping.

She was wearing her usual T-Shirt and short shorts, and usually she glowed with life, even at night. But watching her as she sat there, rocking gently, Carl realized that she was paler than usual. Faded, somehow.

"Sandy?" Carl finally said, and even his whisper was so loud in the dark bedroom.

"He's not here." Sandy answered, a tremor in her voice. "My son isn't here. He should be here, safe, sleeping in his own bed, and…"

Carl landed down beside her, held her gently. "He's with dad. They both are. They're _fine_."

Sandy's eyes finally teared up. "I did this. They ran away because of me."

"I think you and Lili can both take some credit, hun." Carl reminded her, stroking her back. Sandra hiccuped a little, not disagreeing with him. "What were you even fighting about?"

"It's stupid."

"Probably, but I still want to know."

"It...she asked me to pick up Gwen, because there was a tree trimmer coming by and she couldn't leave the house. And when she didn't come by, I thought it wouldn't hurt to have Gwen stay for dinner. The kids wanted to...to have a sleepover, but it was a school night. I thought she'd agree to it. But instead, she showed up angry, and she just _blew up_ on me, and…" Sandra's breathing hitched a little. "And then I was yelling at her, and she was yelling at me, and the _kids_, they were up at the top of the stairs, just watching us...And Ben tried to make us stop fighting." She laughed, and it came up full of sadness instead of joy. "God. Last summer, we...we almost had this same fight. I saw that look in his eyes then, in Gwen's, and I stopped. And Lili stopped." She pulled away from Carl's arms and rubbed a hand at her eyes. "We didn't stop today, Carl. We didn't stop fighting, and...and they _ran away from us."_

She cried then, and Carl held her tight, hurting as much as she was.

It was the same argument, the same fight. It was one that even he and Frank were guilty of, Carl realized with increasing bitterness. Who were the better parents. Who knew the best way to raise their child.

"She was right." Sandra sobbed. "Lili was right. I don't know how to be a good mom. How can I be a good mom if my baby decides he's better off running away from me?"

They were five years old, Ben and Gwen. Only five years old. Carl and Sandy were only twenty-five years old. Sandy's pain, her fears, Carl knew them way too well. What did he know about being a good dad? It wasn't like Max had ever shown him how to be one. Max taught him how to take care of himself. His long absences taught Carl how to be independent. There was nothing that he'd gotten from Max about how to raise a son. Only how not to.

It was all such a mess, and the one person who could have given him the answers he needed, his mom, was dead and gone, dead before the kids were even born.

For once, _for once in his life,_ Max had been there when they needed him to be. He'd been there to grab Ben and Gwen and hold them tight when this all happened. He'd given them a safe place, if a little more cramped and crowded than a regular house, to stay at.

But he still hadn't given Carl the answers he needed. Just loose instructions. To work it out. To end the fighting. How?

He wondered if Frank and Lili were having the same conversation. He wondered if his brother and his sister-in-law had the same worries and fears that he and Sandy did.

Somehow, he got Sandra up on her feet and out of Ben's room, walked her into theirs. He sat her down on the side of the bed, looked into his wife's drawn, pale face, and came to a decision.

Carl Tennyson picked up the phone and dialed his brother. It was late.

Frank picked up midway through the second ring. "_Hello?" _His older brother's voice said, rough and coarse.

Rough and coarse from crying, Carl realized.

"Frank?" Carl said, pausing. "Could...could Sandy and I come over tomorrow morning? To talk?"

"_Carl? I...Yeah. Yeah, that'd be...that'd be good, I think. We need to talk." _His older brother paused. "_You couldn't sleep either, huh?"_

"Sandy can't." Carl admitted.

"_Lili's hurting too." _Frank added. "_I just...How did it get this bad, Carl?"_

"I don't know, brother." Carl sighed. "I just want to fix it."

"_Dad's lessons. Stand by your work, and clean up your own messes."_ Frank chuckled once. "_I think we've got some muffin mix we could whip up if you want to come for breakfast. Could you…"_

"Mom's sausage, egg and cheese casserole?" Carl cut in with a smile. Verdona Tennyson was gone, but she'd taught her boys how to cook a few things so they wouldn't be hopeless, and Carl had figured out breakfast years ago. Maybe one of her favorite dishes would bring her spirit back long enough to solve their problems. "I can manage. I'll make it how you like it too, with parmesan sprinkled in."

"_See you at nine then."_ Frank said, and hung up. Carl went back to Sandra's side, hugged her again.

"It'll be okay, Sandra." Carl promised her. "We're going over to their house tomorrow morning. We're going to talk this out. We're going to _fix this."_ Because that was what he did, Carl knew. He fixed things. He just hoped that there was enough of his mom in him to help him fix people and not just things.

Sandra folded into him, and the two slumped back against the bed with Sandy tracing a finger on his arm.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, shaken and sad and so very tired.

"It'll be okay." Carl said again, and kissed her forehead. "It'll be okay."

* * *

_March 16th, 1993_

_9:14 A.M._

Somewhere around this pond, Max Tennyson knew, he'd find a familiar tree if he looked hard enough. Of course, he wasn't about to go wandering off and leave the kids on their own. Hell, he wasn't about to leave them in the _Rustbucket_ alone if he could help it. And there was the matter of being busy with fishing.

The pond was big enough and deep enough that you could take a small rowboat out to the middle of it. For this trip, like he usually did when he was by himself, lawn chairs at a flat bit of shoreline on the west side of the pond worked well enough. He sat in one, and Ben and Gwen were huddled up side by side on the other. He only had regular fishing poles, so he held one and let Ben and Gwen take turns holding a second one. He'd been tempted to give them each a fishing line of their own, but as small as they were, it would have overwhelmed them. They managed well enough sharing one, thankfully, and weren't fighting over it as much as he had thought they might. Sharing was often a hard lesson for kids.

"You wanna hold it for a bit, Gwen?" Ben asked.

"No, it's okay. You hold it some more." Gwen said, leaning back in the adult-sized lawn chair and yawning.

Max chuckled. No, sharing wasn't the problem with them. He spooled out a little more line and let his bobber drift with the wind-influenced ripples along the surface. The only thing that had gone as expected so far with the fishing trip was that Gwen got a little grossed out when he set the worm on the hook. Ben, naturally, had wanted to do it himself, but even Max had limits where safety was concerned.

"You doing all right over there, you two?"

"When do we get to fish?" Ben asked impatiently.

"We are fishing, Ben."

"Nuh uh!" The boy pouted a little. "We just sittin' here, watching!"

"Ah. Yes, I see what you mean. But it's still fishing, Ben."

"It is?" Ben blinked at that. "How?" That got Gwen's attention as well, and the two looked at him with the same green eyes as their grandmother, earnestly seeking an answer.

Max took a bit to answer. "Adults...they have a lot to do." He explained. "I know that you two like to run around and play a lot, and when you do that, don't you lose track of time?"

Gwen nodded hesitantly.

"Well, adults work and they have chores and errands. Things they have to do. And a lot of adults, when they get that busy, they forget to slow down. They forget to think about what's really important."

"Did you forget, Grandpa?" Gwen asked, and Max felt a sharp sting of hurt. Because he absolutely had.

"I did. For a while." He admitted quietly. "So when I come out here to fish, I try to slow down. Sometimes I'll just sit here and let my mind wander. I just enjoy being out here in the wilderness."

"Wildermess?" Gwen said. "What's that?"

"_Wilder-ness_, pumpkin." Max waved his free hand around them. "It means the outside. With lots of trees, and not so many people. It gives me a chance to...relax. To remember. To think."

"About what?" Ben asked, shifting in the seat a little so he could scoot up to its edge and get a better hold on the fishing pole, which he lowered until the base of it was on the ground, letting him hold it by the spindly rod.

He could have lied and said something else. Max had always been good at lying. He hesitated for once. Really thought about it.

"About your grandma. My Verdona." He confessed, and his grandchildren both looked at him with wide eyes.

"Gramma?" Gwen said. "Mommy and daddy don't talk about her."

"Because we miss her. We all do." Max said. "Sometimes, it hurts talking about people we miss." It hurt him most of all. Some days, being in the graveyard and visiting her...he preferred to go at night. When nobody else was around to judge him for talking to her, for watching the starlight reflect off of her smooth black headstone. Still...He looked into their eyes and realized how wrong it was. How wrong they all were.

He smiled, looking at their faces. "You both have her eyes." He started, reaching over and touching Ben's nose with a finger before setting his hand on Gwen's head. "And you have her hair, Gwen. Hair like fire. And when you smile and laugh...It's like she's back with us again." Gwen flinched a little at that, and her lip quivered. Max and Ben both saw it coming, but Ben was faster than his granddad.

"I like you smiling, Gwen." Ben blurted out. "Don't cry. Please?"

"Okay." The little girl said softly, sniffing once and hugging Ben. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay to be sad." Max told them. "I'm sad a lot, too. I miss her." And they both knew it, too. The whole family had gone to the cemetery on the 5th anniversary of Verdona's passing, and he remembered seeing the kids, before…

And then Max didn't remember much of anything, until his boys finally pulled him away from Verdona and walked him back to the van. He only saw the kids after. How sad they both looked as they watched him.

It wasn't too surprising when Gwen slid out of the lawn chair she and Ben were sharing and skipped over to climb up into his lap. The hug wasn't a surprise, either, but he loved it anyways.

"Don't be sad, Grandpa." Gwen said, her face buried in his shoulder. Max closed his eyes and held his granddaughter with both arms, his own fishing pole dropped and forgotten. "Please?"

Max let out a soft laugh. "I'm working on it."

The tender moment was interrupted when Ben let out a wild shout, and the sound of the fishing line playing out made Gwen pull away from the hug and look over to her cousin.

"Grandpa! Grandpa!" Ben exclaimed, his eyes wide in panic. "Whaddo I do? Whaddo I do?"

"You've got a fish on the line, Ben! You have to reel it in!" Max said, setting Gwen down and walking over to him, grabbing the rod and holding it steady. "Put your hands on the handle, one on the reel! You want me to help, or…?"

"No, lemme do it!" Ben yelped, moving his hands down. Once Max was sure he had a grip on it, he let go, and there was a second of heart-stopping terror when the force of the fish on the line made Ben stumble forward a few steps before he planted his feet right and jerked back on the line, grunting from the strain.

"Come on, Ben!" Gwen hollered as she stood beside Max, caught up in the moment and bouncing on her heels. The boy was small, he'd always been a small, screaming fighter of a thing like all Tennyson boys were. He had a heart bigger than his body, and that was clearly on display now. He was struggling with the fishing rod, losing out to it. He could hang on to the pole, but he didn't have enough strength to reel it in. And he still wanted to do it himself. No, he didn't want grandpa helping him, but…

"Ben, why don't you let Gwen help you catch that fish? You can catch it together, wouldn't that be better?"

Ben was still grunting, but Max could see his mind spinning behind those fierce green eyes. "Yeah!" He finally blurted out. "Gwen! Help me!"

Like a shot, Gwen raced to his side. With Ben holding onto the fishing rod with everything he had in him, Gwen grabbed the reel, one hand on the spinner and the other on the mount, and started cranking in hard. Separately, they would have lost the fish on the line, but working together?

Max was so proud of them. It took them two minutes, but at last, the fish splashed up out of the water and back down, then splashed on the shore, and then was dangling on the end of the line.

"Great job, you two!" Max cheered, and got out a disposable camera he'd been hanging onto that still had a few exposures left. It was a greengill sunfish, about half a pound, and the kids crowded around it with wide eyes as they exulted in their victory. He took a photo of them while they weren't paying attention, then got them to pose for the next shot. "That's a keeper, all right. Your parents are going to love these photos." He chuckled.

Gwen poked at the dangling fish with one finger. "Can we keep it?" She asked him eagerly.

"Yeah! Can we?" Ben exclaimed.

"Well, it is kind of small. You know, for eating." Max explained. "A fish this small, it's better to throw it back."

"No! Wanna keep it!" Gwen insisted. "My fish!" Ben let out a squawk, and she looked at him apologetically before adding, "_Our_ fish!"

"What would you do with it?" Max asked, taking the fish off of the now de-wormed hook. He set their fishing rod to the side and bent down, holding the sunfish in his palms as it flopped wildly. "Are you going to eat it?"

"Ew! No!"

"Are you going to put it in a fish tank then, take care of it? Which wouldn't work, you know. This is a wild fish. They don't belong in a tank." Max went on firmly. "I have one rule I learned from my dad. It's a family rule, when it comes to fishing and hunting. You only kill things that you're going to eat. And if we don't put this fish back, that's what's going to happen, you two. It's going to die. It needs water to live. If you don't put it back, it's going to die. You'll have killed it."

They blinked in horror at the idea, and Max nodded. "Hold out your hands for me." They did so, palms up, and he plopped the sunfish into their grasp. They both gasped, but Max kept his gaze locked on them. "It's your choice. Just think real hard first. Make sure it's the right one."

Ben and Gwen bit their lips and looked at each other, and then she got a _look_ on her face and nodded at him. Ben nodded back, pressing his lips together, and then took the fish, waddling back over to the water and dropping it back into the pond. It splashed, then took off like a shot, burying itself in the cloudy water.

"It's gone." Ben said sadly, and Gwen came over and grabbed his hand.

"For now." Max said, coming up behind his grandkids and putting his hands on their shoulders. "But we can always come back and try again. And that sunfish will be able to have other baby fishes now as well. And we have a photograph of it, even, so you two can show it off at school."

"Show n' tell!" Gwen shrieked, her sadness gone in a blink as she looked to Ben excitedly. "We can do it at show n' tell!" Ben got swept up in her enthusiasm all too easily.

"I can't wait to show Mommy and…" And Max winced when he saw the light drain out of both Ben and Gwen's eyes. As they remembered why they were out here with their Grandpa Max.

Gwen hugged him seconds later. "It's okay, Ben." She said, sniffling. "We can stay with grandpa."

Max blinked. "Of course you can. I'm not your home, but you can always visit with your grandpa."

"We ran away from home." Ben said sadly. Max blinked, and something clicked into place.

They thought…

"Do you two think that because you ran away, that your moms and dads don't want you anymore?" Max asked, shaken by the idea. When they both looked down at the ground and nodded, Max wanted to cry. He laughed instead and picked them up into a bearhug that lifted them both off of the ground. "Well, that's just the silliest thing I've heard. Sport, pumpkin, your parents _love you._ They're never going to send you away, or tell you you can't come home." Especially not with what Max knew about his daughter's _other_ parents. Sandra's especially. "When you came out and stayed with me, they were so worried. They thought something had happened to you, that you were hurt." Holding them together in his arms, he looked between the two, pouting seriously. "Does that sound like something they would do if they didn't want you to come home?"

"No." Ben admitted. "Are they mad?"

"They're worried." Max said, setting them back down on the ground. "But they know you're safe. Your moms...they both love you. And they have some things they need to talk about."

"The fighting?" Gwen asked. Max nodded.

"The fighting. And how it's bad. And how they can stop it. Because they need to stop it." Max scratched at his chin. "I think that's what your mommies and daddies are doing today. Talking to each other. Apologizing. So that when you do come home, they won't have anything to fight over anymore."

Ben nodded. Gwen worried her fingers together, rubbing them over the backs of her hands.

"It is not your fault." Max said, needing them to know that. Needing them to believe it. They finally nodded, and he smiled. "But, you know? They need to say sorry to you for yelling at each other so much. You could say sorry to them for running away. You did scare them, after all."

"Okay." Gwen said timidly. "How, grandpa?"

"How do you say you're sorry?" He mused, and looked around. Then he smiled. Spring came earlier to the landscape around Bellwood, a side effect of the unusual congruence of landscape and weather patterns in this part of California. He could see a lot of spring flowers popping up here and there. "Why don't you two go pick some flowers for your moms? We can make them a proper apology bouquet. Flowers...and I have some small hershey bars that you two haven't eaten yet. We could include those as well." Their heads perked up, eager, and Max sighed and amended his offer. "We can eat some ourselves too, if you hurry."

They cheered and raced off side by side to collect flowers, and Max was left chuckling as he sat back down in his chair, picked up his forgotten fishing rod, and reeled in the line.

At the end was a bobber with no fishing hook or lure or bait. Max smiled at the empty fishing line, chuckled once, and then cast it out onto the surface of the pond again.

They were such good kids. In time, they'd learn the more important lessons. And maybe he'd get them to go fishing without needing to catch any fish as well some day. It was never about the fish, after all.

It was about the peace and quiet of just being happy and content and remembering what was important.

* * *

_Gwen's House_

_9:32 A.M._

Ladies didn't fall apart. Ladies didn't scream and throw insults and curses. Ladies held their composure, maintained their poise. It was the backbone of every lesson that the former Natalie Isabella Larrsen had learned from her mother. Yet she had done all of those things yesterday, with one irritation too many stacked up on top of another until she had gone off on Sandra for _wanting to give her a dinner with her husband in private._

Ladies didn't frighten their children so badly that they ran off, either, but that had happened as well. By any definition of her mother's lessons, Lili Tennyson had screwed things up by the numbers.

Sitting next to Frank, with Carl and Sandra slumped onto the chairs opposite of them, she gripped the ceramic coffee mug in both hands and tried to put her thoughts together. Carl and Frank were the ones keeping the conversation going; Frank had made muffins, Carl had brought an egg casserole that was a perfect match for the one Lili remembered Verdona making for her back when she had been pregnant, and there was plenty of coffee to go around. Their husbands talked about how Frank was moving up at his law firm, and how Carl was pretty much set to land that supervisor's spot for the county if things kept up as they were. They talked about old stories about Grandpa and about them as kids, offered suggestions and plans for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and basically just _talked_.

They talked about everything except what had brought them all together that morning, subtly leaving it open to their wives to lean into the subject of why they were here, instead of Frank and Carl being at the office and Lili either outside gardening or doing volunteer work.

But every time Lili looked over to Sandra and wondered if the blond-haired woman might start talking when the boys' conversation hit a lull, Sandra would stir a little, look up, meet Lili's eyes, and then just..._wither._ And then she'd look back down at the table, finger her glass of juice, and move bits of her breakfast around with a fork. She hadn't taken very much; half a blueberry muffin, a small square of casserole. She'd gone after it like a bird, pecking at it and leaving more than half of it untouched. Well, unconsumed, at least. Her fork had shredded the casserole fairly well by now. Ben's mother looked like she hadn't slept a wink last night, and not all of the redness in her eyes was from that.

Lili knew she looked perfect, because even if she hadn't slept well herself, and had kept getting up in the middle of the night to go stare into Gwen's bedroom and look to where her baby girl should have been sleeping, Larrson ladies lived to a standard. Makeup, eyeliner, and good clothes were a must for breakfasts like this. She looked perfect.

She felt as miserable as Sandra looked, and for once, she regretted spending as much time getting dressed up. Sandra kept looking at Lili as though she had done something wrong, that she wasn't as _good_ as Lili, that…

They were getting nowhere, and her daughter was still beyond her reach. Not entirely, though. If she wanted, she could _demand_ that Gwendolyn be returned to her. If she wanted to. But Lili remembered how Frank had looked at her last night, with that cold fire burning in his eyes, and it was like every nightmare she used to have back when Gwen was just a baby.

The dreams she'd have about going to that party with Frank back in College when he walked out on it. On her. And how, unlike how it had really happened, that he hadn't just stormed off because he was tired of her lying to herself, but that he was tired of _her, period._ In those nightmares, he disappeared from her life, and she kept on going to parties and lying to herself and either ended up married and divorced and bitter, or that she just drifted. That she never married Frank. That she never got pregnant and had Gwen. She would wake up from those nightmares and reach out to Frank, just to convince herself that it wasn't real, that he was _here_ and then she would go and check on Gwendolyn and cry in the dark because her daughter was real too.

That look in Frank's eyes last night had been what had made her stop arguing, stop fighting, and finally begin to look at herself, and Sandra, and the mess that they had made. She'd thought about it all night, about her daughter and her nephew and how they didn't care about the petty arguments and fights about who the better mom was. They just didn't want them fighting, period. They were so tired of their mothers arguing and fighting that they had done the unthinkable. And then Frank had looked at her with those eyes of his, and it cut her anger and blind reaction off at the knees. He only ever looked at her like that when she was _wrong._ She wasn't wrong very often, and not that badly. She had damaged something, and wasn't sure if it could be fixed.

She needed to say sorry. She kept waiting for Sandra to say something, so she could build up to it, but Sandra just kept looking more and more miserable.

They had promised each other, before they lost Verdona, that they would be _sisters._ Daughters abandoned by their families and invited into a new one. She'd been so close to Sandra once. They'd stayed close up until preschool, and then…

Damnit. Why was it so hard to _apologize?_ Lili knew why, of course. Larrson pride. Ladies didn't make a mess this terrible. To apologize for it would mean…

Would mean…

Lili shut her eyes, and tried to think of the memory of Verdona. Months ago before the kids had started kindergarten, Sandra had evoked the memory of the woman they both clung to as a surrogate mother and stopped another fight cold. If Verdona were here, what would she say now?

_What's more important, Lili Flower? Your pride? Or your family?_

An easy question with a simple answer. If she had but the strength to say it.

"I shouldn't have yelled at you." She blurted out, and everyone at the table stirred and looked at Lili. She pressed her hands against the table and curled her fingers into the surface, forcing herself to look at Sandra. Forcing herself to not look away, as much as she wanted to. "It had been a trying afternoon, and I was frustrated, and...and you didn't deserve that, Sandra. You were trying to do something nice for me. For us. I should have seen it." Sandra just stared at her, eyes dull and hollowed out, as if not believing her.

_Not enough, Lili Flower. You're just dancing around it._

Lili breathed out. Bit her lip. "I'm sorry." She finally got out. "I'm sorry for it all. This is my fault."

Sandra just blinked back at her, and Lili wondered if she was about to explode. What Sandra actually did shocked her.

"You said I was a bad mother." Sandra said, and shut her eyes. "You were right."

"Sandy, no!" Carl protested, pulling her into his arms. "You're not, I swear you're not!"

"My son _ran away_ from me. He ran away from his home." Sandra hiccuped, and Lili could hear the hurt and the tears in her voice. "What do I know about being a good mom? Nothing! All I ever got from mine was rules, rules and _control_ until I couldn't think, couldn't breathe, and my brother…" She crumbled at that.

Lili felt her heart skip a bit as she stared at Sandra then, remembering something that Verdona had said to her once. "_I'll try my damndest to be a better mother to both of you. God knows you both deserve one."_ But Verdona had never told Lili _why_ she had said that, and Lili, young and hurting and fragile, just dismissed it as some offhand comment, meant for her more than Sandra.

But it wasn't. She could see that now. Lili still saw her parents. Gwen was a part of their lives. Lili had never met Sandra's, and so far as she knew, they had never seen their grandson.

There had been a reason for it she'd never pressed on. And she finally realized why.

Lili's hand reached across the table, and she grabbed Sandra's hand and squeezed it tight.

"We got pregnant at the same time." Lili began carefully. "I never told you the story of what my parents said when I told them, did I?"

"Lili, you don't…" Frank started, and she could see the pain in his eyes. She'd told him after, one night when not even living in the same house as Verdona and Sandra and the Tennyson brothers was enough to chase away the ghosts of her fears. It had hurt him then, and it still hurt to think about now, and not even their reconciliation when Gwen was born had fully healed the wound. Sandra had a wound of her own, Lili at last acknowledged, and it was nowhere near as healed up as her own.

"Yes, I do." She told her husband firmly, and turned back to the other woman, who she had once called sister. "Sandra, please. Can you look at me? I don't know if I can get through this more than once. Even now." And Sandra stirred herself out of Carl's arms enough to meet her gaze.

Lili breathed. "I was so happy when I got the news. Frank and I were going to have a baby, and...and I thought my parents would be just as happy. But they weren't. My mother cried on the phone. She...she asked me to come home. She said that she and my father could 'fix it'. I was pregnant with their grandchild, and it wasn't a miracle to them. They weren't happy about it. They weren't happy with Frank. I made two choices of my own in my life, Sandra. I chose where to go to College, and I chose who to fall in love with." Her lip quivered, and Lili ignored it. To hell with being a Lady.

"I didn't know who my child was going to be, but I knew that they weren't a _mistake_. And I knew I didn't want to lose them. I didn't want to lose Frank. I liked my life. I could have gone back, and I would have lost everything. They threatened to cut me off. I quit school the next day. Frank was more important. My _child_ was more important. Didn't mean I wasn't lost. It didn't mean I wasn't hurt. I hurt so much. If I had been paying more attention...I should have seen just how much you were hurting too." Lili's eyes were blurry now, and she reached up to wipe at them with her napkin. "My parents came back and apologized. But yours never did, did they?"

Sandra shook her head.

Lili exhaled. "I didn't know." She confessed. "Or I didn't want to know. When you read all those parenting books and try to be a mother based on those, it drives me crazy. But I understand _why_ now. The only example you have any memory of is your own mother, and…"

"I'll never be like her." Sandra sobbed. "I can't. I won't do that to him."

So much of the blind rage Sandra had for Lili and her rules for Gwen finally clicked.

"I'm not your mother either, you know." Lili added gently. "I want Gwen to have everything I can give her, to be able to be anyone she wants to be. To do whatever she wants to do. I don't want to limit her, Sandr...Sandy." She corrected herself, dropping that edge of formality. It didn't belong here. It wasn't needed. "But you're not a bad mother. Because if you are, then so am I."

She sloughed off that vulnerable confession all at once, and let it sit there in the air between them. Sandy gasped and looked at her, and Lili just let herself smile sadly and cry in silence. To hell with it all.

"My daughter ran away from me, too." Lili said. "They ran away from both of us."

Neither one of them said anything after that, and they both let their husbands hold them, grounding them, giving them something to hold onto. Sandy was still a mess. Lili somehow found the strength to keep going.

"How do we fix this?" She asked her sister, and clung to that word with everything she had. _Sister._

"I'm tired of fighting." Sandra whispered. "I'm tired of arguing with you. Just tell me what to do, and I'll do it."

Lili froze up at that. "No." She whispered. "No, Sandy. I don't want to tell you what to do. I'm...I'm always _telling people what to do._ You, Frank, G...Gwendolyn." She shook her head. "Maybe I need to let go for once. And maybe you need to hold on more."

"A middle ground." Frank murmured, and she felt him move his head. Looking at his brother, maybe. "Not as strict as we've been."

"A little firmer than we have." Carl added. "Like mom was."

"I'm sorry, Lili." Sandra said, finally echoing the apology that Lili'd been strong enough to give. "But thank you."

Lili laughed, and wiped at her eyes again. "My mother would say neither of us was acting much like a lady."

Sandra sniffed and gave her a tenuous smile, and reached over to squeeze her hand back. "You're a woman, though. And a mom."

"So are you." Lili replied, meaning it. Because maybe that was enough, in the end. To be there for the people you cared about, and to leave decorum to the side when it got in the way. "And if you want to have Gwen stay over for dinner next time to let me and Frank have a night off...I'll remember that you aren't doing it to prove you're better than me. It doesn't matter. It's not a fight worth having. They don't care who the better parents are. We shouldn't either."

Sandra sniffed and nodded, then got up from the table and came around, pulling Lili up into a tight hug. They stood there, rocking back and forth, and finally let all the arguments die.

"I think we can call dad now, Frank." Carl said. Lili and Sandra both laughed at that.

"God, yes." Frank sighed. "Time to bring the kids home."

* * *

_Gwen's House_

_4:15 P.M._

Being told that their parents weren't mad at them, being told that everything was okay and that their moms weren't fighting anymore and they wanted them to come home should have been enough to make Ben and Gwen relax. But they were Tennysons, and just like Max, they were already putting more faith in actions than in words. When Max pulled the Rustbucket up to the sidewalk in front of Frank and Lili's house and killed the engine, the kids didn't squirm to get up and leave. They just sat in their seats, nervous and uneasy. Ben scratched at his arm, and Gwen twirled a finger in her hair.

"Hey, you two. It'll be all right." Max counseled his grandkids, giving them an easy smile. "I heard from both your dads, after all. You're not in trouble. Besides, we brought your moms flowers and chocolates. It's hard to get a better apology than that."

"What if they start yellin' again?" Gwen asked him, nervous and on edge.

"They won't." Max said firmly. "But next time you want to come visit grandpa? You don't have to wander off. Just call me. I'll come. You have my number now, both of you, right? Got my card in your pocket, Ben?" The boy patted his pants pocket, confirming it. "Good. Now come on, you two. Let's get unbuckled. Up, up, up."

He shuffled them to the middle of his old girl and had them grab up the small bouquets of wildflowers and the ziploc bags full of fun-size chocolate bars left over from when Max handed out treats last Halloween, and tried not to smirk as the two figured out how best to carry both without dropping either. They just stood there and looked up at him, and neither one of them moved to the side door.

Well. He could be the brave one if he had to be. He'd done it before. He swung the door open and walked out first, then motioned for them to follow, and they trailed after him on unsteady legs. From the Rustbucket to the sidewalk and then past the gate in the fence around the yard, and up the concrete walkway to the front door…

The kids walked it like they were on their way to a prison cell.

Max pushed them ahead of him so they stood on the welcome mat, and then reached for the doorbell. Between the _ding-dong_ and the door opening took only about three seconds. It was Frank in the doorway, and he met Max's eyes for a second as they both nodded at the same time before he looked down at Gwen and Ben.

"Hey, baby girl. Hey, Ben. Welcome home." He smiled at them. "What do you have there?"

"For mommy." Gwen mumbled, holding up her bundle of flowers.

"To say sorry." Ben added, struggling to not drop his own.

Frank bent down on his knees to look at the two on their level. "Flowers and chocolates?" He glanced up at Max and smirked. "Grandpa's idea, I take it?"

"I helped." Max admitted, trying to let the kids take the lion's share of the credit. "Can they come in?"

"Of course you can." Frank said, standing back up and moving out of the way. "Ben? Gwen? Your moms are in the living room. Why don't you go take those to them?"

The kids walked inside slowly with Frank behind them, and Max walked just past the front door and stood in the entryway, closing the door behind him. He saw Sandra and Lili, sitting on the biggest couch in Frank's living room side by side...and though his angle was skewed, he could have sworn that they were even holding hands as they waited and watched their children walk up to them.

He tried to think back to the last time he'd seen his daughters do that. Max wasn't sure, but he wanted to guess that it hadn't happened since before Ben and Gwen had been born.

Sandra and Lili looked so fragile, sitting there. Like one angry word from their children would break them. When Frank had called him, he'd said that they (All of them, his boys and their wives all together) had worked things out. Frank hadn't told him how badly they had taken it.

His daughters watched with hopeful, hurting eyes as Ben and Gwen came up to them, handed over the flowers they'd collected and the chocolates they'd ransacked from the Rustbucket.

"We're sorry." Ben said. "For running away."

"You ssouldn't fight." Gwen added with just enough censure to make the apology a more conditional one.

"You're right. We shouldn't." Lili said, looking at her little girl. "We talked about it. We're going to stop fighting."

"We didn't think we were hurting you. We were wrong." Sandra added, looking at Ben with hope. "Can you two forgive us?"

The kids nodded. "Can we come home?" Gwen asked unsteadily.

"Of course you can." Lili said, setting her flowers aside and letting go of Sandra's hand so she could scoop up her daughter. Sandra did the same for Ben, and the kids and their moms didn't say much of anything then, they just kept hugging each other tightly.

"Don't cry, mommy." Max heard Ben say when Sandra started sniffling. The blond-haired woman laughed and held him even tighter.

"It'll be better, Ben. I promise. Just please, _please_ promise me you two won't run off like that again. We were so worried about you."

"Okay." Ben grunted, relaxing once Sandra stopped hugging him so hard. "Okay, mommy."

"Good." Sandra kissed his forehead, then grinned. "Now. How would you two like to help us make dinner? You'll have to wash your hands first, though; meatloaf gets very messy. And while we're working, you can tell us all about what you did with Grandpa Max, okay?"

The kids hopped down and immediately started chattering away as they walked into the kitchen with their mothers, leaving Carl and Frank standing in the living room looking relieved and so very tired.

Max had hope that things would be better after this. They were off to a good start, at least, and if the kids did ever need a break, Ben had his phone number. It would keep the two of them from running off again, anyways.

He turned and opened the front door again, when Frank's voice stopped him.

"Where are you going, Max?"

"I…" Max turned and looked back at his boys, still standing in the middle of the living room. They seemed concerned. "I just thought that you all might want some time with the kids without me getting in the way. Besides, I did have them all day, and…"

"Dad." Carl interrupted his rambling apology. "Unless there's something critically important you have to go do, we want you to stay. Have dinner with us."

"Are you sure, son?" Max blinked, his hand still on the doorknob, and looked over to Frank for confirmation.

His oldest boy nodded once. "We're going to...try a family dinner tonight. The whole family. And that includes you, Max. If you want to stay."

Max blinked a few times, and felt something settle into his chest that made him smile and close the door. "I'd like that." He admitted, and went to join the rest of his family.

It had been a crazy 24 hours for them all, but as he and his sons went to go help out in the kitchen and join in the fun, Max thought that maybe it was a good thing that Ben and Gwen had decided to run off the way they had.

It took the kids leaving to bring the family back together.


	4. Chapter 3: The Kids Stop a Break-In

**Chapter 3: The Kids Stop a Break-In**

By Erico

_Gwen's House_

_Wednesday, June 2nd, 1993_

_9:27 A.M._

Ben was happy that his mom and Gwen's mom didn't fight anymore. He was happier that it was summer, because that meant that he didn't have to go to school to play with Gwen, he could just ask if she could come over, or she would ask her mom if he could. But this week, right here, had to be the _best week ever._ His mommy and daddy were on a trip for daddy's job. They'd wanted him to come along, but they said Gwen couldn't, and he got mad about it. They'd asked him if he wanted to stay with Gwen and her mommy and daddy instead, and that sounded so much better. A whole _week_ staying over at Gwen's house!

They even let him stay in Gwen's room. They'd tried setting up a squishy balloon bed for him on the floor, but it just didn't feel right. After he'd rolled around on it for a while Sunday night and let Gwen have a turn bouncing on it, she'd pulled him up onto her bed, which was _lots_ comfier. Her mom woke them up in the morning and talked to him about sleeping in his own bed, which confused him and then made him angry when Gwen got angry. The next night, he _tried_ to sleep on the balloon bed again and kept wiggling, but he stayed like Aunt Lili wanted. Gwen was smart though. Really smart. She just hopped down and cuddled with him and Furry Freddy until he got sleepy, and the next morning when Aunt Lili tried to argue with them, Gwen got the bossy look on her face and told her mom that Ben did _exactly_ what she'd wanted. Gwen must've won, because last night there hadn't been a balloon bed on the floor, and Aunt Lili tucked them in and didn't say anything.

"Ha!" he cried out, snatching up a puzzle piece from the big pile. He and Gwen were working on a puzzle full of kitties and yarn balls, and she'd been looking for just the right color of green to go with the orange kitty fighting with the green yarn ball in the corner. "Got one, Gwen!"

"Lemme see, lemme see!" She was grabbing at his hand even before he could shove it in front of her, and he flattened his hand out so she could take it from him. She squinted at it and then grinned, moving it over to the puzzle and trying a few spots. Ben went back to the pile and started digging again, and a few seconds later she let out a happy noise. It must've fit.

Ben wasn't as good at puzzles as Gwen was. The ones from preschool hadn't been hard; put the wooden fruits in the wood board. But Gwen's mom didn't have that kind of puzzle, or even one that had 20 pieces, or 30. The puzzle _they_ were working on right now had _two-hunnred_ pieces. And Aunt Lili kept saying that there were puzzles that were even _bigger._

He found another piece with green yarn on it and went to put it in, but Gwen grabbed for it. "Hey!" He sputtered, as she took it and slapped it into place. "I was gonna do that one!"

"But I saw'd where it was gonna go." She told him with a frown.

"Did he give you that piece, Gwendolyn, or did you just take it from him without asking?" Aunt Lili said, walking into the room and smiling down at them. They had the puzzle spread out over her daddy's desk and he and Gwen were standing up on top of _big, huge books_ that smelled old and were full of dust to look over the top of it.

Gwen got a pouty look on her face, and her mom sighed. "Gwen. We _ask_ for things. We don't just take them."

"I know. I'm sorry, mommy." Gwen mumbled.

"You didn't take anything from _me, _Gwendolyn." Her mom said, and then looked over to Ben. "Apologize to Ben."

She turned, still pouting, and Ben just blinked and wondered why it was such a big deal. His feelings were a little hurt, sure, but she was _Gwen._ Gwen was _always_ bossy. Why didn't Aunt Lili see it? Gwen must've felt bad, because she hugged him. Gwen always gave the best hugs, even better than his mommy and daddy did. Even better than Grandpa did.

"... 'm sorry, Ben." She mumbled into his shoulder, and he hugged her and patted her back like his daddy sometimes did for him.

Gwen's mommy hummed to herself, nodding as she looked at them. Her eyes were all crinkly. "Listen, you two. I have to take something over to Mrs. Jansen's house a few blocks away. You remember Mrs. Jansen, sweetie?"

"With all da wittle dollies?" Gwen said.

"The figurines, yes." Gwen's mom said. "Would you two like to keep working, or would you like to come along? If you want to stay though, there are rules." Aunt Lili always had rules, but Ben was getting used to that. He looked at Gwen and she looked back, and he realized she wanted him to talk.

"Stay? Please?" Ben asked, and Gwen's face brightened up. So. Right choice after all.

"Okay." Aunt Lili ruffled his hair and smiled. "Rules, then. No touching any of daddy's things, Gwen. You know what's his in here and what isn't. You can read from your bookshelf if you want to…" Ben made a face, and she laughed. "Or not. I'll only be gone for 10 minutes or so. If you're thirsty, you can wait until I get back. I'll fix you both a snack and some juice then. So stay _out_ of the kitchen. If you get tired of the puzzle, you can go play in Gwen's room. Okay?"

Ben nodded his head and so did Gwen. He wasn't good at puzzles like Gwen, but he _wanted_ to beat this one. He had a good feeling about it.

Aunt Lili gave them both another hug and kissed their foreheads. Ben grumbled and rubbed at the spot, and Gwen's mom stood up and crossed her arms. "Now. Last things. If someone rings the doorbell…"

"Don't answer, 'cause there's no adult home." Gwen chirped back.

"And if the phone rings?" Aunt Lili added, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't answer it." Ben said, because even _his_ mommy had those two rules.

"Good." Gwen's mommy turned around and left the room. She came back in a second later, sighing. "And I probably don't have to remind you two, but don't go running off to visit Grandpa, all right? He's coming over tomorrow anyways."

Ben didn't say anything, even though he really wanted to yell that he _wouldn't,_ because Aunt Lili and his mommy weren't fighting anymore. And they wouldn't just _go_ now, they'd call first. Grandpa'd made them remem'rize his number, after all.

Gwen's mommy nodded again and left for real this time, and Gwen tugged on his sleeve.

"I need orange for the kitties." She said, and Ben got back to work in digging through the pile.

They got in some more pieces and the house was quiet aside from the two of them, and the tree outside which made noises in the wind and made the light coming in through the window over the couch dance a little. The left side of the puzzle actually was looking like the picture on the box now, and they were looking at the gray kitty with the purple yarn on the right when the doorbell rang.

Ben looked over at Gwen, a little surprised that something else was happening. She seemed dazed for a second or two before she shook her head and got that _I know what I'm doing_ look on her face again. "Doorbell. We don't answer." She said, and Ben nodded. It was a rule, after all. He reached for another puzzle piece and was about to hand it over to Gwen when they heard something else. It sounded like something breaking, even louder and worse than the sound that a water glass he'd dropped had made back home when it hit the kitchen floor. His mom had panicked a little and scooped him up, taking him out of the kitchen while his daddy had gone after a broom.

He didn't realize that he'd frozen up until Gwen's hand grabbed his and squeezed tight. He looked at her and his tummy felt awful, because she was _scared._ Gwen never got scared, Gwen wasn't afraid of anything!

She was scared now, though. Scared of that noise. Ben was scared of it too.

He got even more scared when they heard someone walking around downstairs, stepping on broken glass that got smushed into the floor.

"Ohh Mrs. _Tennyson, _come out, come out wherever you are!" A man, a _stranger_ yelled out loudly. Ben heard Gwen suck in a big gulp of air, saw her eyes go wide and he _knew_ that she was getting ready to scream.

Something told him that that was the _wrong_ thing to do. He reached out and covered her mouth with his other hand, stopping her. Her scared eyes jerked towards him, and Ben shook his head. Gwen blinked a lot, and he realized she was starting to cry. But she didn't scream, even when he pulled his hand back. She pressed her lips together tightly and nodded, both of them turning to the open doorway of the upstairs library while the _stranger, _the bad man kept stomping away downstairs.

Gwen was scared, and Ben was scared, but something _burned_ inside of him and told him that he had to do something. He had to keep Gwen safe. No matter what. She was squeezing his hand so tight that it hurt. He squeezed back to get her attention.

He tried to be brave, and sound brave, but his throat felt funny. He ended up whispering when he told her, "_We hafta hide. Be quiet now."_

They both jumped when the man downstairs swore loudly and kicked something over. "Hiding upstairs, are we? Fine! Just like every other woman then, always hiding!"

Ben was moving even before the bad man was done talking, and the sound of his loud crashing footsteps helped to cover up the noise of them darting from the library into Gwen's room across the hall. Ben turned to close the door and froze up when the doorknob _clicked_ into place.

The footsteps stopped then too. Gwen had both of her hands over her mouth then, and was shaking in place. Ben was trembling like a leaf, and the sick feeling in his tummy wasn't going away. The burning got even hotter. It told him to keep moving. He grabbed Gwen and tucked her under her bed, jostling it a little as he slipped underneath it too, and Furry Freddy fell off the top of the bed and landed on the floor in front of them. Gwen reached for his hand again and held on tight, even as she clapped her other hand over her mouth. She was making noises like she wanted to cry.

"It'll be okay." Ben whispered to her. He had to protect her. He had to keep her _safe._

The bad man was upstairs now. He must've been touching the wall. Hitting it with a fist while he kept on talking.

"It won't do you any good to call the police, Mrs. Tennyson. I cut the phone line. Didn't want anyone _interrupting_ me. See, your husband wasn't a very nice man. He took my wife away from me. Hid her. Isn't right, you know." The bad man in the house said loudly. "A man's wife is his _life,_ after all. And since he took mine away from me, I figure I should take his away from him. He's a lawyer, after all. Seems only fair. Seems like _justice,_ doesn't it?" He was shouting now from out in the hallway.

_Don't scream. Don't scream. He'll find you. He'll find Gwen. He'll __**hurt Gwen.**_

Gwen was pressed up tight beside him as he lay on his stomach, the both of them hiding underneath her bed and hoping that the bad man wouldn't find them. That the bad man would just _go away._ She was shaking so bad now, and her head was buried into his side.

"It'll be okay. It'll be okay." He kept whispering, so soft that he didn't think he was talking at all.

A door banged open, and Gwen flinched and hid into his side even tighter.

"You're not going to hide from me forever! I know you're alone, Mrs. Tennyson. I saw your _husband_ driving off to work. Going into work at ten in the morning? Miserable bastard keeping banker's hours while you get to stay home and play happy little homemaker. It's not fair. It's not FAIR!" Another door banged open, closer this time.

The bad man was going to find them. He was going to find them and he was going to hurt them. They couldn't run. Hiding wasn't going to be enough. He wasn't strong enough to stop him. He wasn't strong enough to save Gwen.

Ben started crying too then, with Gwen huddled up tight beside him. He looked out and saw Furry Freddy lying on the floor just in front of them. Furry Freddy always made everything better. He'd hold Furry Freddy at night and the bear kept the monsters away. When Gwen had monsters, she'd borrow it from him.

Ben blinked, realizing something then. Furry Freddy made the monsters at night go away. And Furry Freddy could dance. He'd danced before when they were littler, when he and Gwen held hands and the stars came out.

"Furry Freddy." Ben whispered, and Gwen stopped crying to look at him. He turned his head a little and looked back at her. "Furry Freddy will save us." He squeezed her hand again, and this time, the hurt in his tummy eased off. The burning became a tingle.

He remembered what it felt like when Furry Freddy had been dancing in the air with the blue and green stars all around them that turned purple when they touched. He tried to remember that feeling again as he held on tight to Gwen's hand, and a little bit later, the tingling he remembered started to come back. It wasn't as quick, but it was there.

"Come on, Gwen." He whispered to her. "Furry Freddy will save us." He squeezed her hand again as the first of the green stars poofed around them. A blue star followed it a second later.

Sniffling, shaking, Gwen held onto his hand and didn't let go. "Fur - Furry Freddy'll save us." She said back to him. And she kept saying it, just like he was. It passed between them, until they started saying it together, closing their eyes tight. _Furry Freddy Will Save Us. Furry Freddy Will Save Us._

They weren't looking, but Ben felt like he could feel the stuffed bear roll over and stand up. He had his eyes shut tight, but he felt the soft and raggedy arm of the thing brush over his head, and a bit later, he almost felt it touch Gwen's head as well. He didn't let go of Gwen for a second. He didn't stop saying it either. _Furry Freddy Will Save Us._

The door to Gwen's bedroom was smashed and swung in with a loud bang as it bounced off of the wall, and Gwen screamed.

Ben heard Furry Freddy turn around and make angry loud bear noises as he moved away from the bed.

He heard the bad man screaming after that, and he still didn't open his eyes. He just held Gwen close and kept thinking about Furry Freddy. He kept thinking hard about their stuffed bear saving them, and he didn't let go of Gwen's hand.

* * *

_11:08 A.M._

Frank Tennyson had thought that he'd heard the worst thing ever six years ago when he got a phone call from his brother brokenly telling him that his mother's house had burned down and she'd been in it. Then he had thought the worst thing he'd ever heard had been the frantic call from his wife in the spring, telling him that Ben and Gwen were _missing._

The call that had forced him to beg the judge for a recess when the hand-written message was delivered by the pale-faced bailiff topped everything, because he couldn't think of anything else aside from _getting home._

**The police have been trying to reach you. There was a break-in at your home. Your wife asked you to come as soon as you could.**

As soon as he could meant excusing himself from the case when the hard-assed judge refused his motion for recess and then passing the rest of it off to the other junior partner he'd been paired with. As soon as he could meant going fifteen miles an hour faster than the speed limit with a _police escort_ that had been parked outside the courthouse and who had volunteered to get him there, sirens wailing. As soon as he could meant that he couldn't stop, couldn't _think_ and couldn't react as the black and white screamed through the quiet streets of a mid-morning Bellwood, blazing through every red light that they could get away with.

Frank Tennyson didn't find himself stopping until the police car pulled up just outside of the cordon of three other cruisers that were on-site along with an ambulance. He stared at the ambulance with its flashing lights and felt his world drop out from underneath him. On wooden legs, he stepped out of the cruiser's passenger seat and stumbled forward, almost falling.

Strong arms were around him and holding him up a second later. "They're okay, Frank. They're all okay."

He shuddered as he placed the voice, and the arms. Those arms had always been so strong.

"D- Dad?" And there was Max Tennyson, wearing another of his gaudy red and white Hawaiian shirts and holding him up, strong and steady as ever.

"They're safe. None of them are in that ambulance."

It all finally caught up to him, and Frank collapsed. His father let out a little noise and held him up until the police officer who'd drove him home could come around and help him up.

"Sir, do you need medical attention?" The policeman asked worriedly. Max shook his head.

"The only thing he needs is to get inside and see that his family is _safe."_ Max ground out, helping him along. "Come on, son. They're in the living room. The police will want to talk to you, but this is more important."

Frank looked up and saw Max's RV sitting down the street, parked in what looked like a rush with the nose half up onto the curb in front of a fire hydrant. "You...you're going to get a ticket." The old man just laughed.

"This is more important." Max said.

"What are you even _doing_ here, dad?" Frank asked in a daze.

Max didn't stop walking him towards the house, and Frank inhaled sharply when he saw the kitchen window smashed in and marked off with yellow police tape.

"I heard it on the police band. Somebody heard the guy screaming. Soon as they said the address...Son, _Hell_ couldn't stop me from getting here quick as I could. But it was all over by the time I got here. The kids are safe. Lili's safe. The guy who did this, he's sitting in that ambulance banged up and bleeding and screaming his fool head off. Least, that's what he looked like when the paramedics wrapped him up and hauled him into it."

"_Lili_ did that to him?" Frank whispered disbelievingly. Max hesitated, and a moment's worth of panic passed through him until Max shook his head of gray hair.

"No. No, Lili wasn't home when the guy broke in. The kids were upstairs. I don't know for sure, I've been out here keeping an eye on the perimeter and waiting for you so I haven't spoken with the kids or with Lili much, but if I had to guess, he did that to himself breaking into the house through the window. Must've been high as a kite." Frank shook his head, not quite believing it. "Frank, there is _nothing_ you could have done." Max told him quietly.

Frank wanted to argue that. There was plenty he could have done to stop this. "A security system. Better windows…"

Max sighed and pulled him along gently to the front door. "That, I can help you with. I know a few guys from my plumbing days who were good with that kind of stuff. But right now, your wife and the kids _need you._ They need you to hug them and tell them that everything's going to be all right."

Just like Max used to when he was a boy, Frank remembered. When Max would come home from work tired and with a smile that brightened up when he saw mom and him and his brother.

"Okay. I - I'll do that." Frank nodded. "Can you…"

"I'll keep the police back for a while, they can give you a few minutes. I haven't given my witness statement yet anyways, so that'll give them something to chew on."

"Thanks, dad." Frank found himself smiling at the man out of sheer relief. Max paused when they reached the front door, and Frank frowned. "What?"

"...You haven't called me _dad_ in a long time." Max said quietly. That made Frank pause and think and realize that the old man was right. Bitterness from too many days away from home, and too many broken promises as to when he'd be home.

"You're here now." Frank said, finding comfort in that. Max's eyes misted up a little. "Think you could stay for a while? You can park the RV out front if you want, but I think we'd all feel better if you stuck around."

The smile his father gave him was a thin and shaky thing, full of hope and grief all mixed together. "Yes. Absolutely. I _was_ coming over for dinner tomorrow anyways." Frank held out a hand to him, and Max looked at it for a bit before shaking it with a soft laugh. "God. Go on in already, you keep this up I'm going to hug you and you haven't wanted a hug from me in years." He gave Frank a wink and turned around to mosey towards the police at the white picket fence again.

Frank breathed in and out, then stuck his key into the lock of the front door, flipped the deadbolt, and went inside. He found Lili and Gwen and Ben all huddled together on the couch in the living room, his best girl's face so pale that it made her hair shine like dull blood. Ben and Gwen were beside her, hugging Ben's old teddy bear tight between them and not saying much of anything. They all looked up when he came in, and whatever lid they'd had on their emotions flew off when they saw him.

Lili broke out into sobs as he rushed over to them, falling into his arms. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I was only gone for _ten minutes_ and…"

"It's okay. We're okay." Frank promised her, holding her tight and looking over her shoulder to Ben and Gwen. They were safe. Just like his father had promised him. The kids were safe. "They're okay. It wasn't your fault."

"I should've taken them with me. I should've..."

Frank kissed her to stop her from blaming herself anymore. "I'm going to tell you what my dad just told me. There was _nothing_ that you could've done. We're going to get through this."

"Oh, god. Carl and Sandra, I - I haven't called them yet."

"I'll call them." Frank told her. _Later. When we're all calmed down._ He had other things to worry about first, and he was looking at them. "Gwen? Ben? Are you okay?"

Neither one said a word. Gwen just squeezed in closer to Ben, holding the stuffed bear in her arms as she burrowed into her cousin's side, and Ben looked back at him and nodded.

"When the - when the bad guy came in, what happened?"

Gwen squeezed the bear harder and whimpered a little. Ben was trembling himself, but held it together.

"We hid. And Furry Freddy saved us."

Frank let go of Lili then, but only so he could move around to the other side of the couch, putting the kids between them. He and Lili scooped the little ones up and held them tight, and they all cuddled together.

"You - don't you have work? You had a case today." Lili said, a minute's worth of quality cuddling later that, for once, the kids didn't try and wriggle out of.

"I'm right where I need to be." Frank told his wife, and found comfort in the words and the promise in them.

* * *

_Gwen's House_

_8:20 P.M._

The kids were upstairs with Lili getting ready for bed, and as exhausted as Frank felt, he should've been up there as well. But the weight of the day and what he'd learned kept him from doing so. He stood out on the front step of his house and stared out into a street that was empty now aside from his father's old RV, properly parked at last. The neighbors had all been prowling around earlier in the day, drawn in by the sight of so many police cruisers and flashing lights. Dealing with the questions that would come from them was something he wasn't looking forward to dealing with. But he'd take the questions over the alternative.

He'd come so close today to losing his daughter. It would have broken him. It would have shattered Lili. And Ben…God. He'd called Carl and Sandra an hour ago, and his brother had been ready to leave the conference early and come haring back. Only the news that their father was there and helping to keep an eye on things had kept Carl from doing something that might've put his career at risk. Not that Frank didn't understand why his brother had almost done it.

He walked out of a court case today. The firm would understand, the senior partners weren't _that_ heartless, especially once he would tell them about the circumstances of it all.

They'd probably be willing to offer their services as prosecutors to the district attorney's office pro bono, for what had happened. His firm looked after their own, or at least that was what Mr. Moreland had said.

Problems for another day. He went back inside the house and paused when he heard his father talking to someone in the kitchen. It was too quiet and muffled for him to pick it out, and he snuck a little closer to listen in.

Max Tennyson was alone, standing by the ruins of what had been the large kitchen window over the countertops with his bag cellular phone in one hand and the receiver with its curly black cord pressed up on the side of his head as he looked at the thick plastic sheeting that covered the wound. Max had hung it up himself earlier in the afternoon before ordering pizzas for them all.

"...Could really use you here." Max said to whoever he was speaking with. "It broke. It wasn't strong enough, they tore right through it. You need to…" He paused and tipped his head back, looking at the ceiling. "Look, I'm not sure _how_ they did it, I'm not the one with the talent for it. All I know is…"

Frank leaned in a little more, and the shifting of his weight caught an errant floorboard that creaked. It was enough to make his old man tense up and spin around with wide eyes, and then just as quickly offer a weak smile as he relaxed. "I'll call you back tomorrow. Frank just walked in. Yeah. Uh-huh. Night." He set the receiver back onto its dock in the bag and closed the velcro flap. "Sorry, son. I thought I was staying quiet there. I didn't wake you up, I hope?"

"Just making a last walk around the house before bed." Frank said to him. He looked down at the bag phone. "Who were you talking to?"

Max paused for a second before speaking. "One of my old buddies. The one that's good with windows. I thought they'd have some ideas on how to fix what got broken, but I guess it's not the kind of problem they can solve in the middle of the night. I'll call them back tomorrow, we'll get it figured out. I should be able to put in a replacement for you by this weekend."

"You don't have to do that, dad. The insurance will cover it, and…"

"And how long would it take them to get someone to send out a claims agent to get an estimate and then authorize a window repair guy?" Max shook his head. "I'll feel better once I know you've got more than a sheet of plastic here keeping out the elements. Let me help you out, Frank."

"All right, all right." Frank held up his hands in surrender, smiling slightly. "If you insist." He yawned, and to his surprise, so did his father. "You're as tired as I am, old man. You sleeping in the house tonight? We've got plenty of blankets and pillows if you want the couch, or I could get the air mattress…"

"No, my bed in the old girl will suit me fine." Max dismissed the offer. "But I'll be right outside, and I'll help you put breakfast together tomorrow. The phone company's sending out a repairman first thing also."

"Good." Frank moved to the kitchen table and sank down onto one of the chairs, sighing. Max took another one and looked at him.

"So. What did the police tell you about the break-in?"

"Enough." Enough to make Frank feel sick all over again. "The bast - the guy who did it, he's the ex-husband of an old client of mine. Abusive, heavy drinker. She got away from him the last time he came after her swinging, filed for divorce while she was still being treated in the emergency room for her broken arm and the lacerations on her head. My firm picked her up as one of our pro-bono cases, and I volunteered to take it on. As part of the divorce proceedings, we were able to argue with the judge that she didn't have to appear in court, that a videotaped statement of intent was enough. Drove her ex right up the wall during the court case, the judge had to have the bailiff haul him out of there. He kept screaming about how it was wrong to take his wife from him, how she was a coward for not coming and looking him in the eye when she said all those things. I didn't think much about him after the fact. He got tossed into jail for contempt of court, the judge signed off on the divorce papers, and the ex-wife went running for the hills. Left the state. I think she was headed for Las Vegas. Not sure if she stayed there. But her ex…"

Frank realized he was rambling, but he didn't stop himself, he _couldn't,_ he realized. And his dad didn't look terrified, didn't ask him to stop. Didn't say the dumb little things most people did to offer hollow reassurance. He just sat there and watched him, and waited for Frank to get it all out on his own time. To talk, or to stop talking.

"Why aren't you stopping me?" Frank whispered. Max pursed his lips.

"Back in...in the Air Force. Sometimes we just needed to talk about the things we'd been through and seen. The base doctors had their way of trying to pick through our heads. We just wanted somebody to listen and not judge us. To let us deal with it in our own time. So that's what I can do for you. Just listen. If you don't want to say anything, you don't have to. If you need to get it all off your chest so you can sleep tonight, then that's what you'll do. I'm here for you either way."

His dad had always been full of life lessons. Lessons about taking responsibility and cleaning up your own messes, about taking pride in your work. From his example, Frank and Carl had learned other lessons about being there for their kids and their spouses like Max never was.

Gwen and Ben were five and a half years old, and Max Tennyson was still teaching him things. So he took a deep breath, drummed his fingers on the table, and kept on talking. Because his dad was right. He'd never sleep tonight if he didn't tell _someone,_ and though he'd share the full story of this mess with Lili later, he couldn't do it tonight. Because neither one of them would sleep then.

"I'm not sure how he found my house. Our address is unlisted. The firm's employment records are kept in a locked file cabinet. The detectives are guessing that he must've gotten the records of the court case and found out my full name and the name of my firm. That he must've...must've waited to see me come out of work or go into work to get the make and model of my car. He could have followed me home some night afterwards, found out where I lived that way." He took several slow breaths. "He...The kids heard him. He was going to hurt Lili. In his mind, I'd taken his wife away from him. So he was going to take mine from me. They found a knife at the bottom of the steps, a broken bottle of chloroform in his pocket. Rope out in his car. He waited until my car left this morning, must have figured I was driving it. But Lili was driving it, her van's in the shop, and..."

The haunted look was back in his eyes, he knew it. "The...There was a hole in the drywall up in Gwen's room from the doorknob. Dad, I need to know. Where were the kids? Lili said that you were already here when she got back. That you were downstairs in the living room with them glued to your sides and calling the police on your phone when she saw the broken window and came running in terrified."

Max closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. "They were in Gwen's room. Hiding under the bed." Frank let out a sob at that. God. That miserable son of a bitch had come so close to hurting his family. His father's hand reached over and settled on top of his fist. "He didn't get to them. He didn't find them. He must've left and fallen down the stairs after, because that's where I found him, banged up and bleeding and screaming his head off before he passed out. They were fine. Something _could_ have happened. But it didn't. And that's what you need to focus on, Frank. The kids are okay. Lili is safe. What we need to do from here to make them safer, we do that. But you can't hover on the might-have-beens, or you'll never be able to function again. Okay?"

"Okay." Frank whispered, wiping at his eyes. "Okay."

Max patted his fist until he relaxed it, and then stood up. "All right, mister. We've done all we can today. You think you can hug your wife and the kids and tell them to sleep? Think you'll be able to sleep tonight?"

"Will you still be here in the morning?" Frank asked him shakily.

Max nodded once. "I have nowhere else to be that's more important than right here."

"Okay." Frank breathed, and gave him another handshake before heading up the stairs.

He passed the study first, looking at the unfinished puzzle of kittens and balls of yarn still sitting on his desk. It made him smile, Lili had said that they'd been working on it all morning until -

Frank walked across the hall to Gwen's bedroom and looked inside, expecting to see the kids huddled up together. Lili had given up trying to keep them apart after yesterday, and after today he expected he'd find them side by side. They'd hardly left each other's sight, or stopped holding hands and that teddy bear of Ben's since. He found her bedroom empty and the lights off, and was worried for a little bit until he heard Lili's voice down the hall from the master bedroom.

To his surprise and relief, he found Lili, wearing a sleeping shirt and some pajama bottoms, helping Gwen to put on her own. Ben was lying on their bed already in his Kangaroo Kommando pajamas, holding his stuffed bear tight. Lili looked up just as she finished lifting Gwen's hair out from the collar of the soft blue cotton shirt and gave him a tight smile.

"The kids asked if they could stay with us tonight. I didn't want to say no."

Frank nodded. "Yeah. I - I think that's okay too." He went over and picked up Gwen, hugging her tightly. "Eskimo kiss?" He asked, and Gwen didn't waste any time in rubbing her nose against his. She giggled after, which put him even more at ease, and he looked over to Ben. "How about you, sport? Want one?"

"Ewwww, noo." Ben made a face and curled in around the bear, getting a laugh out of Lili as she swept over and took Gwen from him before giving Frank an eskimo kiss of her own.

"Go get changed, dear. I'll keep an eye on the little ones until you're done." Frank gave her a nod and grabbed his own nightclothes and stepped into the bathroom, working quickly.

It didn't take him long to get changed for bed, and he dumped his clothes in the hamper before coming back out with three small paper cups of water, one for each of the kids and the third for Lili. They all took them and drank them eagerly, and he tossed the empty cups into the wastebasket by his nightstand before turning the lights off. Only the faint glow of Gwen's blue-green nightlight, recently brought in from her bedroom, gave the room any light.

The kids were still shivering a little, but they were doing better than they had been when he'd first seen them. After a day spent with not only himself and Lili to comfort them, but their grandfather around as well, they were calmer. They'd just refused to stay apart. Or to let go of the bear that they still both had a hand on.

"Are you two sure you want the bear here?" Frank asked them. He took up one side and Lili took the other, and they kept the kids between them. An extra pillow was all it had taken to get the two comfy.

"Furry Freddy saved us." Ben told him stubbornly. "He's _gotta_ stay."

"He did, huh?" Frank said, looking over Ben's head to Lili who smiled and shrugged very gently.

"That's what they told me." She answered him. "Does it bother you?"

"No. Not really." Frank surrendered to the wide-eyed pleading looks that the kids gave him, and sighed when Ben cheered and held up 'Furry Freddy' over his head, making Gwen giggle when he wiggled the bear's arms like it was dancing. Then she pulled it back down and took it from Ben, snuggling it against her chest before she rolled over and lay her head down on top of her cousin's chest.

As the two closed their eyes and finally stopped wiggling, Frank couldn't stop himself from reaching down and tracing the hair on top of Ben's head, or from touching Gwen's little arm. He did it to remind himself that they were both here, that they weren't hurt, and he wasn't at all surprised when Lili did the same and their hands bumped.

"So. The bear saved them." He yawned quietly, looking into her red but finally sleepy eyes. "Max said he's going to stick around for a while. He has some old friends and he offered to help replace the broken window."

"If he wants to help, he's welcome to." Lili blinked. "How did Sandy and Carl take the news?"

"A step short of coming home early until I told them Max was here and keeping an eye on things. That calmed my brother down. But Sandy took the phone from him and told me that we're welcome to stay at their place while they're gone, until...until things get fixed up here."

"Knowing your father, that won't be long at all." Lili hummed. "But I think it might be good for us to get them away from here. For a while, at least." She didn't say that she was as badly shaken up by it all as he was, but then, she didn't have to. Frank knew his wife's tells. "Do you suppose we could take them to visit my parents?"

Frank thought about it. "If you really want to, sure. But we had the Fourth of July trip planned already."

"You're right." Lili sighed. "And it'll be a little easier on Morfar and Mormor if little Ben's not around. He's going to give _me_ gray hairs. He'd make my far's hair fall right out."

Frank laughed at that, and Gwen shifted and mumbled softly with a frown, but settled once he stilled his voice. Frank watched as Lili stroked their daughter's hair, reaching over Ben's head to do so, and the thick lump in his throat came back.

The most important things in the world to him were all here beside him. "I love you." He told Lili, a little desperately, but honestly. She paused and looked at him in the dim light, and her face softened.

"We're okay. I love you too, and we're all okay." He hummed one last time and closed his eyes, taking his wife's hand and giving it a squeeze before resting their arms over the kids huddled up under the sheets and the comforter. Maybe he'd believe that himself tomorrow.

Some time later, he felt a soft touch brush against his arm, like someone was patting it consolingly. He muzzily blinked his eyes open, wondering which one of the kids had thought to do that, and found himself confused when only Furry Freddy's tiny little felt paw could be seen above the covers, resting on the bed next to his arm.

_Furry Freddy saved us,_ Ben had said. Frank blinked again, remembering how his wife had called him in a panic about flashing lights once a year or so ago, how she'd imagined seeing this same stuffed bear floating in the air around all the glowing sparks.

He watched the stuffed bear, hugged to death by Gwen, not moving at all aside from when it shifted with her breathing. Slowly, he closed his eyes again. A bear that moved. A bear that saved the kids. It was ridiculous. A story that the kids told themselves to get over the frightening memory of this morning. Just stories and active imaginations. Stuffed bears didn't do things like that.

Reassured, Frank Tennyson breathed out once more and fell asleep, listening to the sound of his wife and his daughter and his nephew quietly sleeping away. His dreams stayed untroubled by nightmares, real or imagined.

* * *

**Author's Note**

1) This is an AU of the LM-Verse. As such, while there are similarities between Shadows' main stories and my LM Sidestories, this is a beast of its own sort and should be considered SEPARATE from everything else we do that's Ben 10 related.

2) There are no Anodites. There were never any Anodites in the LM-Verse because only the Original Series is canon and everything else we're borrowing or jossing piecemeal. Magic's way better.

3) This story is not one of our main priorities, as cute and cavity-inducing as it is. Shadows is finishing up LM Rebooted before he dives hard into Breaking Point, and I'm never at a loss for a writing project to be working on. Updates are infrequent, because we have plenty of other stories we're working on.


	5. Chapter 4: The Fantabulous Revenge

_**COURTING DISASTER**_

By Eric "Erico" Lawson and Shadows59

**Chapter Four: The Kids Face the Fantabulous Revenge of Marci Hunter**

_Angelwood Elementary_

_September 15th, 1995_

_12:07 am_

" - mommy got me a whole new dress just for tomorrow!" Marci said with a grin over the lip of the plastic tea cup that Olivia brought for them to play with today. The rest of the tea set was set out between them on top of the picnic table, the one that was right under the tree and the _bestest _place in the whole school.

Especially today.

"...19, 20! Ready or not, here I come!" She heard _him _shout as he shoved away from the flagpole. Twenty seconds was the longest she'd ever seen Ben stand still for the whole time she'd known him and he made up for it now as he charged across the schoolyard under Marci's glare.

Not that he _cared, _the _dummy! _

"How _rude," _Amanda sniffed from her spot at Marci's left, her dark brown hair catching just a bit of the breeze as she lifted her nose after the boys who were hiding under their table screamed and ran the second _he _got close.

Close enough that Marci _knew _he saw her glaring and what did he do? He just _grinned _at her as he went running by. "What do you expect?" Marci said, the words only jumbling a little around her missing tooth, but she was sure she said them just like her mommy did as she put her cup down. "They're _boys!" _

That just got nods and sighs from the other four girls who were sitting on the table with her. "We should just _ignore _them," Blair sighed as she picked up the teapot and refilled everyone's cups. "And everyone who _plays _with 'em!"

Which only meant _one _person in their class. Only one who _counted _anyway, Marci thought even as her eyes brushed over Olive Oyl as she raced back towards the flagpole. Brushed over and forgot even as the too tall girl screamed and laughed as Ben somehow caught her just before she was safe as she looked for someone else.

Someone that Marci swore she wasn't even going to _think _about because she was just the _worst, _the _traitor, _and who cared about _her _when tomorrow was going to be so good? "We're all coming early tomorrow, right? Mommy said we should 'cause Mrs. Edith is teaching us herself and - "

"Where are you going?" A voice cut in even as more boys screamed off in the distance. A voice that made Marci jump even before she saw the two green, too wide eyes staring at her from over the lip of the table.

"Nowhere with _you, _Gwen!" Blair shouted before Marci _could _as Donna answered with a squeal, "Cotillion starts 'morrow!"

And the way Gwen's eyes lit up at that. "You're going to "tillion, too?!" She said it with a gasp as she bounced on her toes. "So are me and my - _Ben_!?" The last was a squeal as she just disappeared in a blur of motion that made Marci scramble towards the edge of the table so she could _see. _

She was sure there would be something like the boogeyman or aliens and her eyes burned at the thought even as she saw something so much _worse!_ "Gotcha!" Ben said with a laugh as he hugged the redhead girl tight from behind even as their tumble through the leaves on the ground stopped. "This is hide 'n seek, Gwen! You made it too easy today!"

Even Gwen caught his laugh and giggled as she spun in his arms so she could give him a shove. Just a little one. Nothing like the one she gave Flint last week and made him run off crying after he grabbed her just like that. "No fair! I was talkin' to Marci! Not playing!" The words came with a pout as she stood back up, her face as red as her hair or the leaves that were mixed in with it now.

A pout that didn't last long when Ben blinked and bounced back up, too. Not in the face of his grin. "'Bout what? Something _fun?_"

"Not for you, Ben!" Marci snapped back as she wrinkled her nose at him. He _might _be in her class and wear the uniform, but there was a reason that the teachers always sighed when they saw him before school or after lunch. A reason that just _started _with the leaves that were all over his shirt and ended with the mess of his hair. "You're too - too _scruffy!" _

"I AM NOT!" The boy shouted right back as his face went red and then his eyes darted over. "What's scruffy?"

"It means _messy!" _Gwen squealed out as she glomped him and forgot all about being mad in the delight of the new word. "And you are!"

"I am not! Stop it!" Ben said like it was the end of the world, but he didn't push her away, even as everyone else picked up the word and the giggle fit.

Everyone but Marci, who kept glaring even as she sat back on her heels and crossed her arms. "And that's why you can't come tomorrow! Either of you! Cotillion is _fancy!" _

And neither of them were even _close. _Not with leaves in their hair and dirt on their knees and elbows and noses. More on Gwen, because at least he was wearing _pants _and was a _boy. _Not that Gwen ever remembered that she wasn't. Not when she'd run across the playground with all the other boys or climb the jungle gym with them until Mrs. Anderson reminded her that she was wearing a _skirt. _'Specially not now as she grabbed the table and scrambled up. "Can too!" Gwen shouted, her face burning red again as her eyes narrowed and she stomped her foot. "You're just being _mean!" _

"Nuh uh!" Marci shouted right back as she jumped up to her feet because she had, and her next words only caught a little as she added, "And you started it!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

The two were nose to nose when the table shifted again. "Don't yell at my Gwen!" Ben shouted, his face dark as he stood at her side like he _always _did. Stood at her side and found her hand even as all the girls Marci thought were her friends backed away even before Mrs. Anderson shouted, "Benjamin, Gwendolyn, Marci! What do you three think you're doing?"

Marci blinked when she heard her name shouted, too, and felt her lip quiver as they all spun around because it wasn't _fair! _It wasn't fair that she was in trouble, too, or that they got to roll around in the dirt with nothing more than the teacher sighing their names as she picked the leaves off of them, or that the three got marched back inside even though lunch still had ten minutes left.

Or that Ben and Gwen got to sit together while she sat all alone and sniffled just 'cause they _always _got to since forever and ever ago and the teachers always liked the red head best.

"Is Cotillion really fancy?" she heard Ben mumble from across the room as he shot a look at her. One that was dark for a whole new reason before he slumped down in his desk. "I don't wanna be _fancy! _You said - "

"You're not _fancy_, Ben!" Gwen said right back from her seat behind him. A seat she was half draped over as she brushed dirt and leaves from his collar and giggled again. "You're scruffy! _My _scruffy!" Even with the lights off, Marci could see them glow as she said it, and she saw the look she got a second later from the girl who used to be her best friend and best dolly for a whole week. And all Marci could do was glare.

None of it was fair, but at least she knew Gwen was fibbing and she wouldn't have to look at _either _of them tomorrow!

\- o - o - o - o - o -

_Halvarrsen Etiquette and Dance Studio_

_Saturday, September 16th, 1995_

_9:54 A.M._

Mrs. Edith Halvarrsen had seen quite a lot of young girls come through the doors of her studio. The ballet program had always been the main draw, and she had other teachers to help her with that, but she was especially proud of the Cotillion program. It was the one she still taught herself.

There was something so very refined about it, even in the junior program. The pageantry. The formalized patterns of behavior. The script of the dances. In ages of refinement long past, Cotillion referred to the formal outings where young women entered the halls of high society.

Now, it was more of a glorified excuse to teach manners and ballroom dancing, and occasionally etiquette. Edith did her level best to try and drill the more old-fashioned ways into the heads of the girls who came through her doors. Her program was famous for turning out not just impressively refined young women, but debutantes. And she would have loved to do the same for gentlemen as well, but most parents of young boys, even in the circles her name was frequented, found it less deserving of their son's time compared to their daughters.

That was why she had been so thrilled when Natalie Larr- sorry, _Tennyson_ had called and said that would it be all right if there was a tagalong to her daughter Gwendolyn? There was a cousin exactly her age she apparently did everything with, and given how exhausted the poor woman sounded, there had been some fights about the matter of her daughter coming to Cotillion if it meant her cousin Benjamin wasn't there as well. Mrs. Halvarrsen had laughed at that, more than was polite, but she happily agreed to it. At last, a young man who could be used as a dancing partner! Those were always in such short supply, she even agreed to waive half of his sign-up fee, provided that he stayed the entire time that Gwendolyn did.

It was only a little white lie - especially when Elna's donations covered both their tuitions easily enough that the fee she charged Natalie was more for show than anything else - and an easy enough decision. That's what she told herself anyway, until she saw a silver minivan that was new enough, but decidedly _not_ up to the standards set by all the other cars in the parking lot, pull up.

"There's always _someone _who needs directions," Edith sighed even as she looked for one of her assistants even as she kept greeting her students and their parents because learning was best done by example and so she could see just how much work she'd have ahead of her.

She had _no _idea until she saw the driver's door open and heard a little boy wail - "I don't wanna! I look _fancy!" - _from somewhere inside even before the woman in the driver's seat could slip out and she didn't know how the boy managed to make that word sound dirty either, but he did.

"Ben!" The woman called out, her voice a mix of frazzled and embarrassed as she looked back before she slammed her door and hurried around to the one on the side as Edith blinked at the sight of her.

Blinked and whispered "_Lydia!" _Under her breath. She wasn't a _snob_ and she opened her doors to anyone who wanted to learn, but _honestly. _It was bad enough that the woman's dress looked like she'd gotten it from the mall, but her _hair? _Who ruined blond hair as long and as lovely as that by putting a blue streak in it that ran from behind her ear all the way down?

Not a _lady,_ that much was certain.

Lydia, the dear woman, was instantly at her side. "Yes Edith?" She asked, and Edith didn't have to do more than turn her gaze out and nod for her assistant to catch sight of the silver minivan and then catch on. "Ah. Right. I'll take care of it." Edith meant to thank her, but she was distracted by the sight of a set of familiar eyes underneath a perfectly styled head of red hair.

"Natalie. So good to see you." Edith greeted the daughter of her old friend with a beatific and immaculate smile, sliding up and holding out her hands palms down. Natalie grasped Edith's hands in her own and smiled back at her. A shift of movement led her to look down at Natalie's side, and there was a beautiful little girl with hair an even brighter red than her mother's, and sparkling green eyes that were looking all around. "And this must be Gwendolyn."

The girl swallowed then as she huddled close to her mother's leg and her gaze met Edith's for only a moment even as she waved a hand. "Hi!"

The word was barely more than a squeak that made her mother frown, but Edith was long practiced at this. "That simply will not do, Gwendolyn. Ladies don't say 'hi.'" She said as she tried for stern, but it was almost impossible when those eyes somehow got even bigger as Edith reached for the hem of her skirt and curtsied to the both of them like the girl was the Queen of England. "We say that it's a pleasure to meet you. Which it is."

Her knees ached a little at the gesture, but it was worth it just to see the girl's jaw drop at the display and watch Gwen take a step away from her mother so she could grab the hem of her own dress and make her own shakey attempt at the move and words. There wasn't a soul hardhearted enough that they wouldn't smile at the display. She just wished she kept the girl's attention for longer before she darted back to her mother's side and she started looking this way and that again.

"I can't tell you how much we've been looking forward to this." Natalie said to her as she brushed a hand over her daughter's hair in a vain attempt to make her stop fidgeting and looking around. "Thank you for accommodating her cousin, I know it had to be difficult…"

"Nonsense." Edith dismissed her concerns, taking another look at Gwendolyn, who wouldn't hold _still._ To be fair, all of the girls (And the only other boy in the class aside from Gwendolyn's still-absent cousin) were all a little nervous as they'd come in, but she wasn't acting at all like the bright and contienscious girl that Elna had promised she was.

"Where's Ben?" Gwendolyn asked in a voice that was nearly a mumble, and she turned her head and looked around so fast that it made her hair spin around.

"They should be here, Gwendolyn." Natalie said soothingly, and looked around herself while she kept speaking. "You know Ben lives a little farther out from here than we do…"

Edith felt a tiny shiver run down her spine, stuck in place from those two simple words. "Ben?" She said, already turning her eyes towards the parking lot where she'd sent her assistant to look in on the van and the woman who didn't seem to belong, a woman who'd had a child that she had called…

"BEN!" Gwen yelled, and took off running, paying no attention to her summer dress or her mother's (shout) loud gasp after her. Edith's face strained as she maintained her composure in the face of what would undoubtedly be the most problematic class she'd ever taught. Because _of course_ the granddaughter of her dearest friend was the cousin of the scruffy-haired boy who fidgeted in a suit and bow tie he looked ready to tear off the moment he could.

Natalie let out a little gasp as her daughter glomped onto the boy with the uncombed mop of brown hair on his head, and Edith bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling as Lydia was stymied and left staring as Gwendolyn pulled back from the hug, talking a mile a minute and grinning like the eager and outgoing girl her mother had said she was. She didn't wait to even say hello to the blond-haired woman with the running stripe (Her aunt?) before she was dragging the boy behind her. Strangely, while he was still blushing and embarrassed, his protests had gone silent.

"That must be her cousin." Edith surmised, and Natalie nodded her head in surrender.

"That's Benjamin." She confirmed, with (a sigh) a louder exhale of air than normal even as her lips twitched up. "But he prefers Ben." They both fell silent as Gwendolyn and Ben came close enough that they could make out the conversation.

"...know why you're so embarrassed, we wear uniforms at school all the time! Besides, I think your bowtie's cute!"

"Gwen!" Ben whined, and fingered the offending garment, but he didn't tear it off either. They came to a stop next to them, and Ben waved shyly at Gwendolyn's mother. "Hi Aunt Lili."

"Hello Ben." Natalie replied, and motioned to Edith. "This is Mrs. Halvarrsen. She'll be your teacher. Please be respectful, and try to be the little gentleman I know you can be. All right?"

His blush increased and he ducked his head. "Okay, okay." He grumbled, but when Gwen squeezed his hand, his scowl softened.

"We're very happy to have you, Benjamin." Edith greeted him. "Cotillion is a time-honored tradition, you know. It may not seem important now, but in a few years, you'll be very glad you were here. You'll be so popular with the girls."

His blush came back in spades right as the blond-haired woman came up, laughing at his reaction. "Girls won't always be gross, Ben. After all, your cousin's a girl and you get along fine with her."

"Gwen's different." Ben muttered. "She's my Gwen."

Edith raised an eyebrow at that, but neither of the mothers seemed particularly surprised or worried by the possessiveness in his words. And Edith herself doubted that instinctive reaction when Gwen immediately pressed into his side, grinning.

"And he's my _Scruffy_!" She declared with a delighted squeal and another hug as the boy groaned but didn't push her away. The noise made Edith wince and Natalie share an exasperated look with the blond woman who came rushing up and had the grace to look embarrassed even as she rolled her eyes. It should have been enough to set _any _Larrson off. Edith couldn't even _imagine _what Elna would have done if someone made that expression at her, but Natalie just sighed and smiled a little with the patience that only sisters shared.

So, perhaps the children really were cousins who acted more like close friends. Edith thought as she shook her head.

"I am certain that you will both learn a lot while you're here." Edith concluded, smiling at the children's mothers. "We'll be done in an hour and a half, if you have some other errands to run."

"Thank you, Edith." Natalie said, turning to Ben's mother, and the two gave Edith one last smile before turning and walking back to their cars. "Sandy, did you hear back from Max?"

"Yes, he's already got the barbecue pit started in our backyard. We just need to pick up the..." And from there, they were too far out and Edith was too distracted by the next people in line. By then, Lydia had returned, and after Edith waved the next girl into the building, she looked over to Lydia.

"My apologies. I made a wrong assumption." She said, and then took another look at Ben and Gwendolyn as they walked inside, still holding hands. "Could you keep an eye on those two for me?"

"You think that they're trouble?" Lydia asked in _sotto voce._ Edith watched them, trying to shake off the unease in the back of her mind.

"I'm not sure what they are."

\- o - o - o - o - o -

"She's making all this up." The words were just a mumble as Ben stared at the mix of forks and spoons that were lined up around the plate in front of him. Marci glowered as she looked across the long, rectangular table that they were all sitting at while Mrs. Edith went over what all the little forks and spoons and knives meant, and what the difference was between the 'finger bowl' of rosewater that had been brought out to them first versus a bowl of clear broth. Ben had made the mistake of drinking a spoonful of the first, and the face he'd made had made everyone laugh. Even _Gwen._ It was too bad that it hadn't poisoned him. If it had, he would've left and then Marci could have been enjoying Cotillion instead of hating how Ben and Gwen were hogging all the attention. Again!

"She is _not."_ Gwen whispered back, and looked down the table to where Mrs. Edith was sitting at the end, taking a moment to pause after she finished the first round of the explanations.

"Now, young ladies and gentlemen, I am sure that some of you have heard the saying, 'start on the outside and work your way in.' While that is _generally_ true, there are occasional exceptions, as evidenced by the oyster fork, cake fork, and dessert spoon. When we get together again next week, there will be a quiz on these." The old woman's smile didn't break a bit as she looked down the table and locked her eyes on Ben. "But at least young Benjamin will never mistake his finger bowl of rosewater for a cup of broth again." There was a low titter of laughter while Ben blushed and looked down at his place setting, but he stopped looking so hurt when Gwen reached up and patted his shoulder.

Marci fumed even more at that. This was supposed to be _special,_ and those two were ruining it! Heck, she could have put up with just having Gwen there if only _Ben_ wasn't around! And Mrs. Edith had made it a point to single him and the other two boys out and to thank them for joining as well. That wouldn't have been so bad, really, because right after that she said hello to Marci in front of everybody as well, because Mrs. Edith knew her mommy.

The problem was that she knew _Gwen's_ mommy, and was even friends with Gwen's grandmother. It was the first day of class and Marci was already behind. And Cotillion was just the start! This was the beginner's classes, and if she did a good enough job, then she could be invited to be a part of Mrs. Edith's ballet class as well. And sure, there were other _dance_ programs in Bellwood, but Mrs. Edith's was the best. And mommy had always said that _Hunters are always the best._ So she had to make a good impression here. And Gwen should've been trying to make a good impression too, if she _cared_ about anything besides showing off for her stupid cousin!

Mrs. Edith clapped her hands twice and Marci startled, looking up to the head of the table where the silver-haired woman stood up. "One last thing before we move to the ballroom for our dance lesson. When we stand up from a formal dinner party, it is considered polite for all the gentlemen to stand any time that one of the ladies does. No matter the reason." She glanced down the table expectantly, and Marci realized she was waiting for Ben and the other two boys to catch on.

Ben got up first with a small yelp, but Marci was sure that had more to do with Gwen pushing him than him being smart enough to get it himself. Or maybe she'd pinched his arm. Mrs. Edith didn't see it though, she just smiled more and gave him a nod.

_Like he was special._

"Very good." The older woman said, when the other two were finally up on their feet again. "Now, let us adjourn. Come along, everyone! Today we are going to practice ballroom dancing by studying one of the classic forms; The Waltz!" All the girls in their class brightened up at that, even Marci, because who cared about silverware and place settings when they could be dancing?

The problem with dancing, Marci found out, was that a waltz needed a boy and a girl to work right, so out of a class of fourteen students with only three of them being boys, that meant that the girls had to _wait_ and stand along the side of the room so they could _take turns_ dancing with the boys. At least it wasn't entirely boring, Marci realized. All three of the boys were embarrassed, what she'd heard another girl at their school say was a 'hot mess' and Ben was the most embarrassed of the three. He was trying, but he managed to step on the foot of the first girl, which was something that Pierce and Daniel didn't even screw up that badly. She hadn't cried but her eyes had gotten wet and her lip had trembled while Ben sputtered and apologized over and over until he finally just backed away, and looked ready to run for it.

Marci was hoping that he _would_ but Mrs. Edith had other plans. The old woman had taken him aside and spoken to him softly enough that nobody could hear, and Ben had breathed in and out a lot and nodded, calming back down again. Then she'd taken Ben back, patted him on the shoulder, and the three boys got to try again with different partners, and this time Ben got to dance with Olivia instead, who towered above him and made his arms stick up even more than usual to hold her. He didn't step on Olivia's toes, but he spent the entire time looking down at their feet and the circles they made while dancing weren't very big.

Marci fumed a little more until she looked over to Gwen further down along the side and realized that for as irritated as she felt, Gwen was _a lot_ angrier. The red-haired girl had her hands down by her waist and she was balling them into fists and letting them go. She wasn't making a face, but she was watching the dancers very carefully. No, not the dancers, she was watching Ben and Olivia. But why?

Marci kept thinking about that until she was called up to dance next, along with Gwen and another girl. She rolled her eyes when Gwen got assigned to dance with Ben, because _of course_ she would be. Let her dance with the scruffy boy, he was doing _awful_ anyways. Marci smiled as she got paired up with Daniel, and he smiled back nervously even as he set one hand on her waist and held her other arm out to the side away from them. Daniel had been doing a little bit better than Ben, and his second dance was actually okay. And Marci had been dancing like this at home with her daddy sometimes when she'd been younger, so it was easy enough to get used to the cadence of it.

Halfway through the dance, with Mrs. Edith playing the orchestra music on an old fashioned record player in the corner of the ballroom, Marci looked over to see how Ben and Gwen were doing, and more importantly to see if he was messing up as bad as he had been before.

Her steps stuttered a bit and she lost track of where she was in her own dance when she saw Ben and Gwen smiling at each other, dancing like they'd been doing it for hours instead of only a few minutes. Daniel hissed her name and Marci flushed and apologized, picking the pace back up to stay in the dance with him. But she didn't stop watching Ben and Gwen. He wasn't looking down at their feet, and he wasn't uncomfortable. Neither of them seemed the least bit embarrassed. They looked like they were having fun. It made no sense to her! How could they be having fun? Dancing was _important,_ that's what her mommy had told her! If she did good here, then she could get into ballet, and if she did good in ballet…

But. At the same time, there was something about how he moved with Gwen that was _more._ It took Marci a bit to realize what it was. He _wanted_ to dance with her, and it made him dance so much better. Better than even Daniel was doing, and when Marci looked at Daniel's face, she could see how it was scrunched up in concentration. Ben wasn't thinking about dancing, he was just _doing it._ And Gwen looked so happy as they swirled around the hall, never looking away from each other. It took her a while before Marci realized why, and then she wasn't just irritated.

She was jealous. What did Gwen have that she didn't? If she'd been paired up with Ben, would he look at her like that? Like nothing else mattered?

"Wonderful!" Mrs. Edith exclaimed when she took the needle off of the record, and clapped her hands to end the dance. They all turned to look at her, and the old woman was beaming brightly. "Miss Gwendolyn, young Benjamin, that was very good! I've never had a young man who improved as quickly as you did." She laughed and shook her head. "My apologies, young man. I should have known you just needed a partner you could trust to get your feet under you." Ben blushed again and nodded while Gwen giggled. "Do you think that you could do that well with somebody else?" She asked, and Ben's eyes went wide. So did Gwen's.

"No!" The red-haired girl gasped, and wrapped her arms around one of his. "He's mine!"

A few of the other girls gasped, and Mrs. Edith blinked in surprise before she schooled her features. "Now, Gwendolyn. Everyone here needs to learn how to and Young Ladies should learn to share the gentlemen at a dance, it's only fair." Gwen narrowed her eyes, thinking about it, before Mrs. Edith added, "Tell you what. You let Ben dance with two more girls and I'll let you have one more dance with him before we dismiss for the day."

"...Okay." Gwen pouted, surrendering but not too happy about it. She let go of him and went back to the side of the room with Marci and the other girl while another three came forward for their turn.

Marci didn't pay much attention to anyone else after that. She looked between Ben, who was doing better than before but wasn't very happy while he danced with some girl she'd never seen before, and Gwen, who sat with her back against the wall and her arms crossed while she pouted and stared at the floor. She looked up every so often at Ben, but when he turned to look back at her, she ducked her eyes again.

Marci smiled as she realized why they were acting so funny. Gwen was _jealous_ of the other girls! Because she wanted Ben all to herself! It was too late to do anything this week, the class was almost over, but _next week…_

Marci smiled to herself and only just kept from laughing and rubbing her hands together, like the bad guys did in the Saturday morning cartoons she'd watched while she was eating her cereal.

She had ideas for next week. She'd show Gwen. She didn't get to hog Ben all to herself just because they were like two peas in a pod. Marci wanted to dance with Ben too! She'd get her chance to dance with Ben and show him that she could be _better_ than the red-haired girl. Maybe even get him to stop spending all his time with Gwen at school even! She'd show them both, and then Mrs. Edith would have to pay attention to **her** from then on!

It was going to be **perfect.**

\- o - o - o - o - o -

Marci liked Amanda and Blair. Even when they didn't know _why_ she was doing something, they followed along with her. So on Monday when they were all back at school, and Marci started telling Ben how _amazing_ he was on Saturday and how it was nice that there was something that they could _all do together,_ her friends didn't question it. Sure, they looked at each other and were a little confused, but they just played along even though they didn't know why.

Not like Marci felt the need to explain all her plans. She was a Hunter, and Hunters were good at getting what they wanted. No matter what. What she wanted was Ben and Gwen confused and more trusting than usual. They were, at first, and they kept looking at each other. But by Tuesday, when Marci asked (innocently) if they wouldn't mind spending some time at recess practicing the waltz they'd learned last Saturday so they could show everyone how _amazing_ they were, Gwen and her scruffy cousin went along with it. Marci thought that they actually were enjoying it, by Wednesday. And, it was kind of nice having Gwen smiling at her and wanting to be around her again. Even if Ben was always there too. Not that she'd tell Gwen that. Not that she'd tell Ben that she was actually _enjoying_ him being around for once, now that he wasn't always being so gross and immature all the time. But she did like how it felt dancing with him. They all took turns dancing with Ben, and Blair even took the boy's part in the dance so they could get more practice in, which was something Marci absolutely refused to do (Hunter Ladies _never_ pretended to be boys, after all).

Mostly, though, aside from getting better at doing the waltz, Marci was watching Ben and Gwen. Looking for how they danced with each other, and how they reacted when they danced with anyone else. Ben didn't seem to mind a bit when Gwen danced with Blair, and he didn't seem to care anymore when he danced with anyone else besides Gwen. Especially since they'd asked the music teacher if they could take recess in her room so they could dance without anyone else watching, so it wasn't like there were any other boys who could see him dancing and make fun of him for it. Because Marci knew they would. Because they were _boys,_ and they didn't know a thing about the finer things in life.

It still chafed, though, when she watched Ben and Gwen dance together. That was when he relaxed the most. That was when he wasn't just going through the steps. When he danced with Gwen, _every time,_ his smile got a little bigger. And sometimes, he even would say something in a whisper that Marci couldn't hear and she would _giggle._ One time on Friday, he even tickled her while they were dancing, and Gwen busted out laughing as she squirmed away from him, and then he caught her and hugged her from behind while making bear noises.

Marci had wanted to get them comfortable and relaxed so she could pull her trick on Saturday and get them in trouble. But by Friday afternoon, when her mommy came and picked her up from school, Marci was more than a little jealous of Gwen. Because Ben was a boy, sure, but…

The way he looked at Gwen, and treated her nice, and took care of her...Marci realized why she was jealous. Because she wanted that too. So she changed her plan a little. It wasn't about getting Ben and Gwen into trouble any more, that had probably been a long shot.

But, maybe...Just maybe, she could steal Ben away from Gwen. Then Ben could do all those things for _her_ instead. And besides, Ben and Gwen were cousins. They were family.

If Marci got Ben to start liking her, then they could be sweethearts. And when she lay in bed and snuggled under her blankets painted with unicorns, that thought made her smile as she closed her eyes. It might be nice, having a sweetheart. And Ben might turn out to be a good one. With a little more training.

Then _Marci_ would be the girl that everyone looked up to.

\- o - o - o - o - o -

_Halvarrsen Etiquette and Dance Studio_

_Saturday, September 23rd, 1995_

_10:40 A.M._

The quiz on dinnerware had gone about as well as Marci had expected it to, and like everyone else, she'd been eager to move on to the dancing lesson afterwards. Mrs. Edith must have noticed that as well, because the old woman hadn't done anything more than to sigh softly and smile, without rolling her eyes or shaking her head. _Like a real Lady,_ Marci heard her mommy's voice in her head. They'd moved to the ballroom where instead of going straight into the waltz again, Mrs. Edith had started them off with a new dance that she called the _Quadrille,_ which had them pairing up into groups of four instead of two. Unlike the waltz, they were able to pair up in groups that weren't all boys, so Ben, Daniel, and Pierce each got put into a different square, and to Marci's delight, _Gwen didn't get put into Ben's group._ But Marci did.

Mrs. Edith's assistants were circling through the room after the first demonstration to give corrections and keep an eye on things, and there was a new (old) record playing from her machine in the corner with that trumpet sticking up out of it. The dance _was_ kind of fun, but it wasn't nearly as much fun as the waltz had been. Mrs. Edith had talked about other kinds of dances that they'd learn as well, and most of those were between a boy and a girl also. For right now, though, Marci grinned as everyone kept up the pace in time with Mrs. Edith's called-out instructions and the pantomiming of her assistants, because this dance was _hard._ The Quadrille kept them bouncing between partners in their square of four, and then she and Ben were back together again, holding their hands up and their palms pressed together as they made a slow circle, stepping in time with the music.

She looked at Ben's green eyes, which were the same color as Gwen's, and that made her blink and look past him. Marci saw Gwen looking over towards them from her own group, and smiled and nodded back at the red-headed girl. Gwen didn't like not being around Ben, but she was holding up better than she had last week. Maybe that was because of all the practicing they'd done at school. Or maybe it was because there were two more people than usual dancing with Ben also. Gwen's face was a little pale, but she mustered a weak smile back.

So she was paying attention. Marci grinned and looked back to Ben. Good. She _wanted_ Gwen paying attention for this.

"You've gotten lots better at this, Ben." Marci said to him with a giggle. Ben blushed under the praise and shrugged as he kept up the dance. "It's been nice, having you and Gwen around doing grownup things at recess. You're not bad for a boy."

"Um. Thanks?" Ben said unsurely. "But we can do other things too. Why don't you and your friends come play tag with us sometime? It's fun, honest!"

_Hunter women don't run around like little hooligans, Marci._ Marci blinked at her mommy's words and shook her head. "Thanks, but...Don't think I can." Ben shrugged again, and Marci felt a little funny. "Not tag, anyways. But maybe we could do something else?"

They traded partners, and Ben waited until the dance brought them back together again. "Like what?" He asked.

"Oh, I 'unno." Marci drawled, trying for something that she'd seen a woman do on TV once. "I just like being around you."

The Quadrille came to an end, and Mrs. Edith clapped her hands after turning her record player off. "Not bad! Not bad for a first attempt. Dances like this aren't quite as common as they were one or two hundred years ago, but it's excellent practice. You might one day find yourself at a square or a line dance, and _no,_ we will not be practicing those. Still, if you can learn the Quadrille, you should be ready to do those when the time comes. But for now, we have the Waltz to review! Girls, line up along the wall and…"

Marci had been waiting for her opportunity, and now she took it, wrapping her arms around one of Ben's to hold him in place. "Mrs. Edith? Can me and Ben go first? We've been practicing!"

Mrs. Edith blinked, a little taken aback at the offer, and Ben let out a squeak. "Well...I don't see why not. If you've been practicing, I'm rather interested to see how you've improved. Yes, go ahead, Miss Hunter. And young Blair, why don't you partner up with Pierce, and Margherite, you…"

Marci stopped paying attention after that, because she was imagining a little her in her brain that was screaming happily and jumping up and down for joy. She glanced over to Gwen, who had gone pale with her mouth hanging open when she'd seen Marci glomp onto Ben's arm. Now as the assistants shooed everyone who wasn't getting ready for the first part of the Waltz over to the side of the room, Gwen's face was getting redder. And she wasn't watching _Ben_ anymore, Marci thrilled. Gwen was finally watching _her._

She'd show the Teacher's Pet. She'd show everyone. If she did this right, Ben would drop Gwen like a smelly towel and then everyone would be paying attention to her. And _she'd_ be the one everyone liked!

They got into their positions, and Marci felt Ben's hand shift nervously on her waist. "It's okay. You can do this." Marci told him with a smile. "You've _been_ doing this. Right? We practiced."

"Yeah." Ben answered. "It's just…" He looked over Marci's shoulder to the side of the room, and Marci knew he was looking at _her._ Marci harrumphed and tugged on his shoulder and his eyes snapped back to hers. They were blown wide, and she swallowed before giving him a nod.

"It's okay to dance with other people. Mrs. Edith said so." Marci told him. And then the music started, and they started in on the circles.

Marci knew what she had to do, but it was easy to per-cas-tinate and just enjoy the dance. Ben really had gotten better, and Marci realized she liked being held by him. The only problem was that she didn't have all of his attention. He kept looking away from Marci. He kept looking over to Gwen and nibbling his lip, and that made her angry. When she looked over to Gwen, she could see that the redhead's face was going purple and she was standing straight up. And some of the other girls had noticed the glare that Gwen was giving them. Or, giving her. Marci had seen Gwen get angry at Ben before, and she'd never looked _that_ angry even when she was yelling at him. So, she was angry at Marci. Angry enough that if something happened, she might do something that would get her in trouble with Mrs. Edith and the other instructors. Something that would get her kicked out of Cotillion. Just like Marci wanted.

"Hey, Ben?" She started out, and he looked back to her. "Does Gwen like you?"

"What?" He blurted out, and missed a step. One of the instructors corrected them and he called out a 'sorry' before finding his feet again. "Of course she does."

"Nooo." Marci sighed, and she squeezed his shoulder again. "I mean, does she like-like you?"

Ben frowned. "What's that mean?"

"Is she your sweetheart?" Marci went on, and _now_ he finally caught on, blushing. "Because I've never seen her say anything like that to you. Or give you a special hug. Or kiss you."

Ben's face was red as a beet, and he looked over to Gwen again. Or he tried to anyways, his eyes shot down to the floor and he shook his head.

"I'm...she...She's Gwen!" Ben stammered out, like that meant something important.

"But I could be more." Marci offered slyly, and she leaned in closer to him. Because she was a little bit taller than he was, it meant she was leaning over him also, and his eyes went wide as she pulled her head down, puckered her lips…

And then Marci Hunter kissed Ben Tennyson, _on the cheek,_ in front of _everyone_ in the class and she felt a tingle where her lips touched his face.

One that vanished as his hand left hers and he _shoved _her away even as she thought she heard someone shout out her name. And maybe she heard the record cut off and skip as she stumbled back. But mostly she was looking at Ben who was stiff as a statue and staring back at her with those big green eyes of his as she got her feet back under her and…

And he _pushed _her away! Daddy never did that when mommy kissed him!

Marci felt her mouth drop and hot tears fill her eyes as she tried to figure out _why_ even as she heard the loud footsteps coming towards them a moment before small arms that were full of power ripped her away from Ben and spun her around, and Marci found herself staring into the angry face of Gwen Tennyson, as red as her hair.

"He's MINE!" Gwen shouted, and pushed her hard enough that Marci lost her balance and fell to the floor with a cry. "My Ben! Not yours! Don't you **ever** do that again!" The girl screamed. Marci's butt hurt from the hard floor and she was embarrassed, and she could see that everyone else in the ballroom was staring at them. Even the teachers were frozen, like they didn't know what to do.

"Gwen, I'm okay." Ben stammered out, and he rubbed at his cheek like it was covered in dirt. That hurt Marci more than anything, and her hurt feelings bubbled up out of her. She'd just...in front of _everyone,_ and it didn't mean a thing to him?! And Gwen got away with saying something like that, and Ben _let her?_ And none of the teachers did anything?

It wasn't fair. It wasn't FAIR!

"Is not!" Marci yelled back, shoving herself off of the floor and hollering back at Gwen with everything she felt as she stomped her foot. "You two aren't mommies and daddies or nothing!"

"Benjamin! Gwendolyn! Miss Hunter!" Mrs. Edith bellowed as she stormed over, and the closest of her assistants finally moved and pulled them all apart. "What in heaven's name has gotten into all of you?" She shook her head widely, exhaled loudly, and gestured to her assistants. "Lydia, Maureen, take them to my office. I'll talk to them. _Later._ But first, why don't we finish up with another practice round of the Quadrille? With Ben gone, it would be easier to make groups of four again."

Marci felt numb as Miss Lydia led her away, a feeling that lasted as she shuffled down the hall that went on _forever _and past the chairs that were waiting just outside the office. The ones that the hand on her shoulder guided her right by as she was led into the office like she was _Flint _and mean so she could sit on the chair on the bad side of the desk.

She didn't do anything more than sniffle into her knees after she pulled herself up into it as she was let go. Not when she _knew _she'd be left in here all alone even though she didn't _do _anything like always. Not until she heard Ms. Maureen say from the other side of the open door. "No. You can sit in the chair over _there_, Benjamin," and the horrible gasps that followed.

Marci's eyes were still wet as her head shot up and she scrambled around so she could look over the back of the seat, not that she could see _anything_, not until the woman went marching by the door as she pulled a red faced and screaming Ben behind her, but she could still _hear _everything that happened just before that.

"No! It's not _fair! _You can't - !" "

"I'm sorry! I'm - !"

Words that disappeared as the woman _yelled. _"No! That's enough! Proper ladies and gentlemen do not _shove!" _

There was more after that more that didn't matter. Not nearly as much as the fact that it wasn't just her! Marci's heart raced at the thought. They were in trouble_, _too_! _Her heart raced as she knelt there and just listened as Gwen cried and Ben howled as they were pulled apart just like they _deserved. _Like she always _wanted _ever since they were little and…

And it didn't _help. _Not as Marci felt the hot tears finally slipped free as she buried her face in the leather back of the chair and cried with them.


	6. Chapter 5: The Kids Big Day

**Chapter 5: The Kids Big Day**

By Shadows59 and Erico

_Gwen Tennyson's House_

_September 23rd, 1995_

_3:07 pm_

Frank Tennyson tried his best to be a good husband and a better father every day. There were times that he didn't always love his job and what it required of him, but it was worth the hours and the working at home on some weekends to know that his Lily flower and his little girl were taken care of. Gwen was so smart, and more than that, she was bright and cheerful. Not even that break-in had kept her spirits down for very long, not with her cousin around to help keep her mind off of it and her feet and her hands busy with games and whatever else they always seemed to get involved in. Frank had been taking more work home at night after that horrible experience, and even Ma - even his _father_ had been spending more time with Frank and Carl and their families and had been doing his best to mend the old fences. It seemed like everything was going _good_ for a change, as good as they could be with Frank and everyone else still missing their mom. He was sure that the worst of his parenting troubles were behind him, at least until Gwen hit puberty.

He'd been out at the office in the morning even though it was a sunny Saturday because he knew that his girls were busy and the work never _stopped. _So he was filling out some requests for discovery and making preparations for the next case that his firm had handed off to him when he got a perturbed phone call from Lili that left him wincing, and promising to be back later in the afternoon once he'd finished up everything that still needed doing. It would give him time to cool off, would give _Lili_ time to cool off, and give Gwen a chance to think about what she'd done before he talked with her. Frank had never thought that he'd ever be having a talk with his daughter about _not shoving people._ He'd been certain that Carl would have had that talk with Ben instead.

He wasn't even sure if Gwen and Ben would be allowed back in Cotillion after the dust settled. That was Lili's big fear, that this 'incident' would ruin her entire future. Frank was more pragmatic about it. They were 7 years old going on 8. If Mrs. Halvarrsen banned them from coming back or taking any of her school's other courses, doubtless Lili would find _something_ for Gwen to do to fill in the space. It wasn't the end of the world. It was just disappointing.

Lili stood up from the couch in the living room as he walked in from the garage, her blue eyes a storm of worry, and her face drawn as she put down the photo album of the kids as babies that always came out when she was upset. An album that Frank just glanced at as he set his briefcase down next to the kitchen door and went over to her. She slipped into his arms and buried her face in his chest, and he sighed and kissed her hair as she hugged him tightly.

"So. How bad are things?" He asked.

"They're not allowed back next week," Lili said quietly, pulling back from his chest far enough to be heard clearly. "But after that, she can come back. Provided Gwen apologizes to everyone, and Ben won't be allowed to sit next to her or be her partner for the rest of the session. Which isn't really that much time, it's just a six-week course, but…"

"She's going to hate it." Frank realized. Those two did _everything_ together, and he hadn't been surprised to hear that it had been the catalyst for the fight Gwen got into, as Lili related it to him from the teachers. "So. What have you done so far, and what do you want me to do?"

"I sent her up to her room, and told her she couldn't come out until you got home and talked to her." Lili shook her head. "I was thinking about punishments all afternoon when I wasn't on the phone with Mrs. Halvarrsen begging her to not kick Gwen out. I think she needs some time where she isn't around Ben, aside from school."

Frank winced. "Cold turkey?" He asked dubiously, which earned a glare from Lili.

"If she thinks she can hog Ben all to herself when there's only three boys that all the girls in the class have to share, then I think she could use some time away from him. Don't you?"

He laughed and kissed her forehead to mollify her. "All right, all right. But it's going to be lonely over here on the weekends. I was just getting used to not being outnumbered by my best girls, you know."

"Oh, you." Lili huffed, trying to stay irritated and failing utterly as he worked a kiss out of her. She put a hand on his chest after and pushed him away. "Now get going. I need to figure out what to get started for dinner, and you need to have a talk with our daughter about what Ladies never do." Frank nodded, loosened his tie, and gave her one last kiss before moving to the landing at the bottom of the stairs.

Stairs he didn't take with his usual rush because, for all that he loved his Lily, she sometimes forgot that the son of a plumber and a beatnik knew as much about what ladies did as his father did about cooking. But fighting? His mother had all sorts of advice about fighting. Most of which he didn't dare share with his daughter. Not now while she was just seven and hopefully not ever.

It was the Irish in her, his father had laughed on the rare occasions when he was home and his mother was in a mood, but never when she was around. And when she was...

Frank took a page from his father's book when he heard the soft sound of sniffling. Not from the closed door on the left like he expected, but from his office on the other side of the hall. He followed the sound and found his little angel curled up under the desk in his office instead, still in her fancy dress and with a book in her lap. One that he could tell she wasn't reading just by how she wasn't touching the page of flowers.

Not the kind he heard about from the other parents in his office, either. Or if they were getting science books full of the crosssections of plants and animals that were marked for kids a good three years older who wanted to know how things worked, they kept it to themselves. He knew his daughter was special and Frank couldn't help the pride in his voice at the thought even as he made it rumble a little. "I thought that your mother said that you had to stay in your room, Pumpkin."

It was a rumble that he regretted the second he saw her jump and almost bang her little head on the hardwood over it. And if that wasn't enough, seeing the bloodshot red that surrounded the green in her eyes almost broke him as her head twisted around and up. "Daddy?" she squeaked and squirmed like she was about to bolt.

_An open and shut case_, Frank could hear every prosecutor he'd gone up against saying right now, but there was a reason that he'd never gone in for _that _side of the law. It was the same reason that he sat down on the carpet next to her right now and held open his arms.

Gwen was stronger than he was. She held out for a whole three seconds before she charged into them and she hid her tears until her face was well buried in his shoulder. Tears he let run until they stopped, and that was when he finally said, "What happened, Pumpkin?"

He felt Gwen go stiff with surprise and worry in his arms, and he had to strain to hear her as she mumbled into his shoulder, "Didn't mommy - ?"

"She did," Frank said with a calmness that was well-practiced. "But I wanted to hear it from _you." _

"Marci was being mean _again," _Gwen hissed like the cats that she loved so much and that they couldn't own. Not when she'd gotten his mother's allergy along with the Irish temper. "I thought that maybe we were going to be friends again because she was being _nice _all week and then… then… she kissed my Scruffy!"

"Scruffy?" Frank asked with a sudden bit of worry as his mind raced over all the dolls and stuffed animals that filled his daughter's room and their names because this wasn't a test he was expecting.

And one he knew he failed just from the pinched look that filled that little face. "Ben!" She shouted like it was _obvious. _"He's my _scruffy!" _

Which… was something that Frank realized he couldn't argue with. Not when he was trying so hard to act stern when all he wanted to do was grin. "And she…?" He started to ask, and his baby's glare only got hotter as she nodded. "The little _devil _got the Tennyson charm early."

The words were just a whisper and certainly nothing that he wanted little ears hearing. It was a thought that worked out just as well now as it did when he was little or when he was out with his wife, because he didn't know _which _woman his baby girl got her hearing from, but he knew it was one of them when he felt little hands give him a shove. One that reminded him why he was here even as she cried out, "Daddy!"

"Gwen," he said as he rocked back half an inch and took her by the shoulder so she couldn't do it again. "We don't _shove _people, honey. You know that."

"I know," Gwen said, because of course she did, or else he wouldn't have seen her face fall in the split second before she ducked her head as her arms went around her middle.

"She shouldn't have kissed him," he said, and this time he managed to keep the pride from his voice, "but you don't get to push people either. So you're going back to your room and you're going to write an apology note to Marci, okay?" That should have been that. His daughter was a good girl, the misery in her voice proved that and he should enjoy the quiet while it lasted because maybe the kids _should _spend some more time apart, but there would be hell to pay when they found out about it. Maybe it would have been if he'd just left it at that instead of saying, "Honestly, Gwen. I don't even know where you learned that from."

"Mommy," the girl said instantly, her face pinched again as she thought. "I saw her push that lady the last time we went to Mormor's and - "

And Frank felt his face burn at the memory of _that _party. The ones his father-in-law threw were _always _a bit much, but nothing like _that _had ever happened before. "H - how did you even… Your cousin Sunny was supposed to be watching you!"

"That's what I was coming to tell you!" Gwen said, her face fierce as she looked up. "She was talking on her phone and not reading me my story like she said she would and - "

And it was a look whose sources were unquestionable, a combination of nature and nurture. Not when he saw the pursed lips when he walked into the house today and he _still _had nightmares about the looks he'd gotten as he grew up and just did something stupid thing or another. His daughter was a mix of the best and worst parts of the most important women in his life, and that was usually okay. "Your mommy shouldn't have done that either," he said, even though he didn't blame her a bit. Not after a woman she swore used to be her best friend did her best to shove her tongue down his throat right there in front of _everyone _before she broke away with a sneer and a snort and said, ''_**You're **_the nerd who made Natalie _boring_?'

There weren't _words _for what happened after, even if in-laws tried to find them after he got his wife off of her ex-best friend. Not words that his daughter was ever going to hear if he had his way anyway. There weren't any words now either, but he tried anyway. "She shouldn't have, and that's _different." _

It wasn't enough. Not when his daughter put her hands on her hips and demanded, "Why?"

"Because," Frank tried before he hit on the _obvious. _"Because your mother and I are married and that means nobody can kiss me but her."

It would have been good enough for a judge and must have been good enough for Gwen, too, because she went so quiet after as she made her thinking face. One that didn't go anywhere as he led his daughter back to her room and the apology note that was waiting for her to write. And he almost felt proud of himself as she made a little nod after he told her to be good and she picked up her pencil…

It didn't occur to him then, but he should have remembered something his dad said to him once when he'd been little. About how sometimes rockslides started with pebbles rattling loose. It would be a good six years before he found out just what he set in motion with those words.

\- o - o - o _\- _o - o -

Angelwood Academy

September 27, 1995

10:30 am

"But it's gonna be dress-up day!"

Olivia heard the words and at any other time, she would have been groaning right along with Maria because she already had hers all picked out and _nobody _was a better Applejack than her! She would have if she didn't have hearts in her eyes as she clapped her hands together and let out a squeal because her best friend in the world always had the best games and this one sounded like the bestest! "This is gonna be so much fun!"

And it was a good thing that they were in the corner of the playground with all the bushes because those words were out of her mouth before she remembered that Gwen said that this had to be a _secret. _"Sorry," she squeaked out between her fingers.

Anyone else might have yelled, but Gwen was grinning too wide to get mad or sit still as the three of them sat in a circle. "I know!" She said, her face glowing for the first time since Saturday. A glow that didn't go away even as she grabbed for her backpack and got the look on her face that she always did when it was time to study as she pulled out a handful of papers. "But we've got a lot of work to do first so we can get everything! Mommy showed me her album last night so I know just what we need, but the boys - "

"The _boys?" _Maria moaned as she threw herself back into the grass with a groan. "We gotta play with the _boys?" _

"Stop acting like _Marci!" _Olivia said as she poked her friend's knee with her foot and laughed at the gasp the words got. "You heard Gwen! We gotta do it right and they're not that bad! And we get to dress up!" Their prettiest dresses Gwen said, and she was ready to swoon at the thought.

At _all _the thoughts. "It's gonna be like Beauty and the Beast!"

"Beauty and the Scruffy!" Gwen said with a giggle and a nod as she handed over the papers that listed stuff like flowers and rice. "We gotta lot to do before next Friday! Ben said he'd talk to the boys, but - "

There was just a touch of worry at that, not that Olivia knew _why. _All the boys listened to Ben and everyone knew it. Even Flint at least pretended to and that was why it was her turn to throw herself back into the grass. The only one who didn't was -

"Marci!" She howled the second she saw the shoes hiding on the other side of the bushes. Shoes _everyone _knew because the blond was always showing them off after her mommy had them made _special_. Or she _did _until everything that happened on Saturday and even Blair and Amanda were ignoring her now. Not that any of that mattered as much as the fact that Gwen couldn't play on Sunday because of her and looked so sad all week because she couldn't play her with her Ben at _all _anymore just because _that _girl always had to ruin _everything _by being mean.

That's what Olivia thought the whole time she chased the blond off with Maria's help and it kept her grinning until she turned around and saw Gwen standing there with her arms around her middle and her face sad. "What? Did you wanna play with her, too?" There wasn't any hiding the shock in her voice. Not since Gwen had been fighting with her since _forever, _but her bestest friend was always a little strange and that was part of the _fun. _

"She just looked so - " Gwen whispered before she shook her head and the smile came back. Mostly. "Ben already talked to Matthew and he'd said he'd do it if he can catch you the next time we play tag, Olivia."

"What!?" Olivia couldn't help her gasp as she forgot all about the mean girl and spun on her best friend. Being the fastest was the only good thing about being the tallest, too, and she loved how mad the boys got when they chased after her. "But nobody but you and Ben can - !"

"We need him!" Maria broke in, her dark eyes wide as she grabbed Oliva's arm. "You know that he's learned all the words from his daddy!"

That did it. That and the look in her bestest friend's green eyes. "Okay, but only _once!" _She could live with being caught once. Especially for the best game ever. A game that still needed so much planning as she looked up at the leaves that were just starting to change color and realized that they'd need flowers. "And we've got to get - "

\- o - o - o - o - o -

Angelwood Academy

October 6th, 1995

7:25 am

"Okay, Carol, I want to know how you did it."

Carol blinked as she rushed into the Teacher's Lounge to get a cup of coffee even though she was already late and she blinked again when she saw the Cheshire cat grin on Anna's face. "Did what?"

"Get them all to dress like that!" The Kindergarten teacher said with a sparkle. "When they were in my class they either came in their pajamas or some horrid costume and I want to know your secret. "

"You can't eat the paste either, Ahn," Carol teased her friend as she shook her head, lost, and happy for the warmth that filled her mug. Today would have been a long one even _if _she didn't get caught in all the traffic this morning. And all the longer because the kids wouldn't be in uniform and would be all the wilder because of it. And if they stood out enough that the other teachers _noticed…_

She couldn't help her sigh as she rushed out the door before the kindergarten teacher could say anything more. "Wish me luck!" A rush that wouldn't have happened if she wasn't so sure that Mrs. Coldwell would catch her in the almost empty hall. Almost, even if it seemed like every teacher _there _saw her and grinned as she rushed by their classrooms. Somehow she managed to make it to her class before the second bell rang, and she only paused for a moment at the door to steel herself as she heard all the excited voices on the other side. Voices that didn't die as she pushed it open with an "All right, everyone. I know that dressing up is fun, but - "

And that was as far as she got before words just _failed _her.

Not because the class was divided between the boys and girls or who they were grouped up around. That was the norm in most of the classes she'd taught and only a little strange in this one. It wasn't even a surprise who they were gathered up _around. _No, the only surprise there was that Ben and Gwen were sitting on opposite sides of the class instead of next to each other like they always did and that there was a whole crowd between them.

_That _should have been the biggest shock, but it wasn't. "I see that you all took dress-up day seriously." Those words were the only ones that made it past the shock. The day was usually a riot of colors and cartoon characters, but not today. Today she just gawked because all the girls were in the prettiest dresses and the boys….

The boys all wore _suits. _The smallest, cutest suits that Carol had ever seen and there weren't _words_.

The girls were far happier about it than the boys - all but Miss Hunter, who was just as pretty in her dress but looked as lost as Carol felt - most of whom were squirming and pulling at their ties as they stood around Ben, who looked the most nervous of them all. "What's - ?" She started to ask as she wished she had a camera.

And then normal came rushing back as Olivia called out, "Is it time for recess?" A whole cacophony of voices followed that. All of them excited, and no one as excited as the redhead who sat next to her, who just bounced in her seat in the middle of the circle of girls and was the only one who wasn't splashed in color. No, Gwen's dress was the only plain white one in the room. One that wasn't any less pretty because of it, but she'd seen little girls burst into tears over things like that before. Not that Gwen seemed even _close _to that as she stood by her desk with a grin so wide that she looked ready to _explode _as all the other girls fussed over her.

"We have to do math and spelling first," Carol said in the face of the groans that followed. Groans that didn't touch her smile because not even the Grinch could stay mad today. Not when her kids were so _adorable. _"But maybe if you all sit down we'll take a few extra minutes outside today."

She didn't expect the cheer that came from that. One that almost made her wish that it was time for recess, too, even though she didn't have a _clue _what was going on.

\- o - o - _One Math and Spelling Class Later _\- o - o -

Ben stood there in front of everyone and felt like he had all the frogs he'd ever caught hopping around in his stomach, even though it was recess and it should have been _fun. _

Gwen _promised _that this game would be, but she wasn't here. No, she was off with the girls in the back, girls who had all been _giggling _every time that they saw Ben for the last week and a half and it was just everyone else staring at him as he stood there all alone with Matt behind him, and he was the only one who looked more nervous than he did.

Still nervous or not…

"Flint!" Ben hissed as the boy tried to slip away. Not that he cared, not when he was always trying to shove everyone else around, but Gwen said _everybody _had to play if they were going to do it right. The boy glared back or tried to before the other boys surrounded him and pushed him back into his place because they wanted to play the game, too, even if they didn't understand it any better than Ben did, but Gwen always came up with fun games that no one else ever heard of.

And seeing Flint go pale was fun all on its own, even if it didn't last long before the girls all came rushing back into the little clearing that they usually played tag in and the music started from a small boombox that Vince had brought with him and even had his dad buy _batteries_ for. The sappy kind of music that Ben usually rolled his eyes at and he would've now, too, except he _finally _saw his Gwen again as she made her way up the aisle in the middle that Maria had chased everyone else out of.

It wasn't her white dress that made him stop pulling at the sleeves of the jacket that he was told that he had to wear today. Not when he'd seen it before. It wasn't even the huge net-like thing that she had over her face. One that would've dragged on the ground behind her if Olivia wasn't holding up the back. No, it was her smile under it.

Ben always loved it when he made his Gwen grin and she'd never grinned like she was now, even if he didn't know why she was just walking when she could be running, or why she had a bunch of flowers in her hands and more in her hair.

It was a look that made Ben feel even warmer and funnier than he had before as he just stood there and _stared _until she was just a few steps away. Then her smile faded as she got the little wrinkle in her brow he was always teasing her about because it meant that she was thinking too much. "Ben?"

And she was thinking _way _too much right now, he could tell just from the little shake in her voice. Somehow that let him use his again as he just kept staring at her and not any of the kids they went to class with. "This game is _weird, _Gwen_." _

It wasn't just him complaining. Not completely. And he didn't tear off his jacket and tie so he could run and play even though that was all he was thinking about doing all morning. That thought went away the second he saw her squeeze her flowers. "I know…" Gwen said as she swallowed hard and everyone behind her started shifting because this wasn't in the plans she'd handed out and he had shoved in his pocket because there was so _much. _"We don't haveta if you don't - "

The words should have made him feel better, but they didn't. Not when he could see all the girls behind her and the looks that they were giving him. The same ones that he'd been getting since Marci… "You're right about the rules, right?" He asked, his voice squeaking. "Nobody can kiss me after this?"

Because he could _still _feel Marci's lips on his cheek, and it was only the warnings from his parents when they let him bring his suit today that kept him from wiping it off with his sleeve _again. _He was sure that he had cooties now because of it, just from the way his heart was racing right now as he looked at the girl in front of him. One who had a look as fierce now when she heard that as she had when it happened. "Nope! Nobody but me!" And then that fierce look broke as she looked down and dug her toe at the grass. "Unless you don't _want _me - "

"It's okay if _you _kiss me," Ben cut her off without even thinking about it because it was _true. _Marci was an icky _girl, _but Gwen…

She was his _Gwen_ and her kisses were as good as her games and almost as good as her smiles. And he'd never seen her have one as big as the one as she got at those words. And it only got bigger as she took his hand and the two turned to Matthew. The game still didn't make any sense and the feel of her holding his hand made the tingles so much worse, but Ben didn't care. Not if it made her smile like this. She smiled until he couldn't help but smile back as the boy in front of them let out a squeaky, "Dearly Beloved…"

\- o - o - _Two Minutes Later _ \- o - o -

Gwen wanted to bounce on her toes because it was all going so well!

It was just like all the pictures in her mommy's album, even if her dress wasn't big enough for her to have a pillow down the front of it like her mother had in hers. But that was okay, her mommy said that she hoped that she didn't when she asked if she had to have one when she was married. She said it with a laugh and a kiss, so Gwen knew it was true. She tried anyway just so she would match all the pictures as well as everyone else did as they stood in lines behind her all dressed up and Ben…

Her Ben looked every bit as handsome standing there as her daddy did in the albums. She just wished that someone had a camera.

And that her hand would stop tingling as Ben held it.

The feeling went all the way up to her shoulder now, and it almost felt like it did when she'd fallen asleep on it, except she could still feel Ben's hand in hers as they stood together in front of all their friends. She would've asked for a time out, except her mommy laughed at that and it wasn't on her list now. So she did her best to ignore it as Matthew said to Julio, "Do you have the rings?"

Julio blinked at that and everyone else held their breath even though it was his only job. Then his hands went in his pockets. "Si!" He said, nerves making him talk funny for just a second as he pulled out the two Kangaroo Kommando Decoder rings that Ben gave him. The two that Gwen had seen once before in his bedroom back before they even started Cotillion. He'd spent all summer eating cereal to try and get one, and then he'd gone crazy when he opened one box and there were _two_ inside of it. She still had the sticker packs from the boxes that hadn't had them back in her room, even. Ben glowed as he grabbed the first one out of Julio's hand, while Olivia took the second. Ben reached for her left hand, and he wobbled a little as he looked down at her fingers. He couldn't have forgotten _already_ which hand it went on, could he? But then again, Gwen felt so nervous, and when she looked at him, she could tell he was too. So she wiggled her second finger for him, and he smiled and slipped it on. It was plastic and it felt a little weird at first, but Gwen felt so _warm_ when he breathed out after and rubbed his thumb over the top of it. And then she didn't want to take it off. She never wanted to take it off ever again.

She felt so warm and so buzzy that she missed everything that Matthew said, but there wasn't _anything _that could distract her from how serious and excited her Ben sounded as he nodded and said, "I do."

And then it was her turn, only Olivia didn't _forget _about the ring. She was a good foot taller than Gwen, and she blushed a little as she bent over so Gwen could grab the ring without getting grass stains all over the toes of her shoes. She didn't _dare. _Not when she was in so much trouble already.

Trouble that she forgot about as she turned back to her Ben, scruffy already with his hair a mess even though she _told_ him that he had to comb it. She should have yelled the second she saw it as she made it down the aisle, but her tongue wouldn't work when she saw him and it seemed right anyway, no matter what Mommy said. Gwen took the second ring and put it on the second finger on _his_ left hand, and when they put their hands together, the feeling of them clinking together made her stare at him while his eyes got so big.

Almost as big as hers felt as she stared at him. She hadn't been able to all _day _even though everyone told her it was bad luck. Not when he looked so _handsome _in his suit_. _The handsomest boy ever, she thought through the tingles as she stared into his green eyes. Stared until she heard Matthew clear his throat and whisper. "You're supposed to say it now!"

Gwen jumped at the sound of his voice and the fact that she'd missed her cue. "I do!"

"Then I now pronounce you mommy and daddy!" Matthew said as everyone else let out a breath at that. Gwen could have kicked herself for screwing up the game. The game that she was almost sure was over until she heard the preacher's son stammer, "Uh, you can kiss the bride!"

And the world _froze _as Ben's eyes went wide. Wide enough that she almost didn't. But he was hers now. And she was his and she _could. _Him and the rules both said so and when he didn't move, she did.

Not on the cheek either. Not where Marci had made him shout and push. No, she pressed her lips against his and waited for the feeling of his hands shoving her away, too. But he didn't. He just blushed as he stood there for a kiss that was just going to be a peck because _everything _tingled now, but then there was a flash of light and she heard the gasps all around.

It was those gasps that finally made Ben pull back and let out one of his own as he looked up. "Gwen, look! The stars are back!" There was so much awe in his voice as she followed his gaze up and she let out a squeal when she saw that he was _right. _Only it wasn't the blue and the green ones this time. Just bright violet ones that danced around each other and everyone else like fireflies before they collided and burned violet. Lights that almost _ruined _everything as their friends started chasing them with giggles and shouts.

And then she felt Ben press his lips against hers and she knew that there wasn't a thing that could ruin today even as he pulled her into the chase, too.

\- o - o - o _\- o - o - _

Angelwood Academy

October 13th, 1995

12:25 am

Marci found the two of them sitting together under a tree and reading during lunch because of _course _they were. Or Gwen was reading anyway, as she slumped against Ben and he talked the whole time. " - if I was the pig I wouldn't have hidden in a house," he declared, so serious as he sat there even though it was such a dummy thing to say.

Serious even with the rings that they both still wore, which was so _silly. _They weren't even real!

"I _know _that you would, Ben!" Gwen harrumphed and poked his chest, her anger as fake as her ring.

"And you would, too," Ben said right back because that was as obvious as the grin that filled Gwen's face at the words.

A grin that didn't fade at all as she closed her eyes and tilted her nose up. "Only because _someone _needs to - " she started, and then she forgot about whatever it was that she was gonna say as her eyes shot wide open and she jumped to her feet. One of which she stomped as she hissed, "What do you want, Marci!"

And Marci swallowed hard as she stood there. She almost crushed the picture she was holding, the one that was her _revenge _for all the trouble that the two got her into and was the only reason no one played with her now. It was the only reason that she'd even brought a camera last week.

They _deserved _this.

"I was there," she said, her voice nothing like her mommy's as she said it even though she imagined that she'd be laughing right now all _week _as Gwen's face went pale and Ben's went red. "You didn't want me to play last week, but I was there anyway and I took this!"

The two were _already_ in trouble. _Everyone_ knew that Gwen's mommy hadn't let Ben come over at _all _since the fight at Cotillion and she was sure that the photo of the two kissing would have made it so much worse. They'd never be able to see each other again! It was everything that she ever wanted and why she'd brought her little disposable camera to begin with that had ten shots left in it from summer vacation, but she never thought she'd catch them doing something so _bad! _The thought of them in trouble was all that she could think about as she waited for her mommy to bring the pictures back so she'd have _proof_.

"Here," Marci said as she shoved the worst photo, the one of them _kissing_ with all those weird lights in the air around them into Gwen's hands instead and she didn't know why. Marci didn't know what to say either, and one nasty thing after another died on her lips. She didn't say anything else except, "You were really pretty."

The words were a sniff as she turned away because she didn't want them in any more trouble. She figured that out at Cotillion. She didn't know _what _she wanted right now except to be alone.

Which made the glomp that almost knocked her down all the more surprising. "I'm not trying to get you in trouble!" She shouted, sure that a fight was starting and she was so tired of them.

Sure until Gwen squeaked, "Thank you!" Into her shoulder.

Sure until Ben shook his head and looked at the book that had tumbled down into the leaves when Gwen sprang to her feet. "You wanna read with us? Gwen isn't doing it right! Pigs can't build houses!"

The words were a joke and Marci knew it just from the way Gwen's mouth dropped at them before she went stomping over. "You can't say that! I'm your wife now, Scruffy!"

"Can, too!" Ben said as he stuck out his tongue and then he laughed as he grabbed the redhead and pulled her close as Gwen squealed. "I'm your husband!" The two giggled so hard at their game and the new words that they'd learned when the teacher heard everyone talking about mommies and daddies. But they hadn't told the teacher _why_ they were talking about it, and nobody else in the class had either.

Giggles that only faded a little as two sets of green eyes finally turned back to Marci and Gwen asked, suddenly shy, "Do you wanna?"

"You two are _weird," _Marci said as she flipped her hair back just like her mommy taught her because she was a _Hunter _and they were just _them, _but Gwen didn't let her go. And then Ben was there, too, and she let herself smile for what felt like the first time since kindergarten because the hug felt _that _good. "But okay. Just for today!"

Once couldn't be _that _bad. She could be a Hunter tomorrow.

The rest of lunch went by so fast as she spent it reading with them. Reading when Gwen wasn't staring at the picture or hugging it against her chest anyway like it was the necklace that her daddy got mommy the other day instead of some dumb photo. As dumb as the _boy _that the redhead kept cuddling with even as the three of them took turns with the book. Turns that Ben didn't care about as he played with the bright red hair that was the first thing that Marci ever noticed all those years ago and hair that didn't compare to the rings on their fingers now. Rings that touched after Gwen grabbed for his hand after he tugged at her hair.

Rings that cut one of their arguments short as they just stared, and then Ben let out a squawk as Gwen kissed his cheek again. A squawk, but he didn't shove _her _away as Marci stared at that little peck that made them both turn so red as Gwen gave her a look after. One that made Marci hide behind the book that they were supposed to be reading because she _should _have been jealous, but she wasn't. And it wasn't because they were so _weird _either, even though they _were. _

So _weird, _but them being mommies and daddies together didn't seem wrong. Not at all.


End file.
